


You're wrong, it's so easy to love you

by pastelplants



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Miya Atsumu, Pining Sakusa Kiyoomi, Sakusa has a dog, Social Media, they both have the same lesbian friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29228136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelplants/pseuds/pastelplants
Summary: "When did you follow me?""Last night. Akiko gave me everyone's usernames and asked me to follow everyone."Bokuto perks up at that and asks directly, "Did you like our videos?" He and Hinata looked at Sakusa expectantly, and Atsumu cuts in before he could answer, "He seems to like my thirst traps."Everyone suddenly looked between them as Atsumu smugly grinned at his spiker. Sakusa, already wanting to strangle him, stared back at him." I never said I liked the thirst traps. I just asked you why you're the only one who posts them."(Or Miya Atsumu infiltrates his life, and Sakusa lets him.)[Updates every Friday]
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Updates guaranteed every Friday and maybe another day if editing goes fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakusa gets pestered by Hinata and the team PR Manager Akiko to join TikTok, and while setting up the account has to relive one of his embarrassing university stories to be told to no other than Miya Atsumu

"I'm telling you Omi-san Tiktok is really fun." Hinata looks at Sakusa with frustrated and pleading eyes. Probably one of his last resorts to sway Sakusas opinion about this idea. "The algorithm figures out exactly what content to show you after just a few minutes of scrolling."

"And it's a great opportunity for easy marketing for the team if you make an account," Akiko adds. It is her fault they are even having this conversation. She and Hinata have been pestering Sakusa for the last 10 minutes to download Tiktok to help with publicity.

"Can you seriously not think of anything else besides our publicity." Sakusa glared at her, and she starts to look really offended. "I'm an athlete, not a stupid celebrity who has time for anything like that."

That seems to cross the line for her. "Yeah, and with being an athlete comes publicity and presence in the public eye to be successful. So excuse me for doing my job and just trying to help you guys get more of a reach." Sakusa falls quiet and feels everyone in the gym staring at them.

Regardless the social media manager continued. "In case you aren't aware, without my work, you wouldn't have half of your sponsorships. So stop acting like you're suddenly above this." Sakusa starts to feel some guilt because he knew that she was correct and just doing her job.

"Tiktok is a great opportunity to open all of your guys following to more of a variety of audiences. Stop undermining my profession and just try to work with me here, okay. I'm not asking you to post 18 videos of high-quality content. People would probably love a more raw insight into your private life, and they love you" Akiko's eyes got softer, saying that last part. They knew each other from university, so Sakusa knew that she meant it.

Before he could answer, she finished her little speech with a lighthearted "People would watch live streams of you cleaning or taking care of your plants or you playing with your dog. So you don't need to pressure yourself in any sort of way."

"Sorry, Akiko, you're right. You can help me set up an account later." Sakusa feels relief when he saw her smile again and nodded. A fight with that woman hasn't ever turned in his favor anyway.

"Great! Just come to my office after practice, and we'll work everything out together." And with that, she leaves the gym apologizing to coach Foster for taking up so much time.

"No worries," he shouted after her and made everyone gather around for the next drill. "Alright, we're gonna go ahead with serve and receive drills. I first wanna have Atsumu serving and Bokuto, Sakusa and Barnes receive."

Everyone dispersed to take their positions. Before Sakusa could take off to his side of the court, he was stopped by a familiar voice calling. "Hey Omi-Omi, if I get more service aces than ya, I'm gonna come to see Akiko with ya after practice." Little chuckles could be heard by his other teammates.

Sakusa couldn't help the heavy, annoyed sigh that left his body as he answered, "You're not gonna win then. This has nothing to do with you. If you wanna talk to her, I'm sure she'd be happy to catch up with you without me being present."

"As prickly as always, I see." Atsumu chuckles as he takes his position for his first serve. To irritate Sakusa one more time before throwing the ball in the air, he said, "No, it's so much more fun because when you're there, she'll tell me about what college was like with ya. I'm too curious to not find that out."

He throws the ball up with those final words and slams the ball over the net with his spike serve first. It came down on the ground right between Bokuto and Barnes. Sakusa looks over, annoyed at Atsumu. A smug grin is sitting comfortably on his face.

The next serve is a hybrid aimed directly at Sakusa, and while it touched his arm, it also flew drastically out of bounds, which results in a small cheer from Atsumu. The third serve was another spike that flew past Bokutos head and hit the floor out of bounds. Sakusa is somewhat relieved. If he made no mistakes with his serves, he could spare himself the misery of Akiko telling Atsumu about their joined university days.

Yeah, no tough luck. Sakusas partners for the serve and receive practice were Hinata, Inunaki, and Adriah. Hinata and Inunaki picked up all his serves and smiled at Atsumu as if he was paying them to help him. Which honestly doesn't even seem so farfetched. Inunaki probably appreciates this to get some gossip on Sakusa, and Hinata probably just wanted to help Atsumu if the bastard had asked him pleasant enough.

With that, Sakusa finds himself being accompanied by that moron to go to Akiko's office across the street from the gym. Of course, Atsumu also doesn't stop talking and just keeps on rubbing in his victory.

Then Sakusas perks up as Atsumu suddenly calls Akiko by her first name. "Ya know Kei-chan was always like that in high school. She always gave us a piece of mind when we were doing somethin' stupid. Even if she was only our manager for my third year. It's nice to see that she hasn't lost her edge in all these years." With that, Atsumu smiles and pushes at the door to the office building.

Sakusa was curious now. "She tormented our team from day one. So I know what you mean. Akiko definitely knows how to stand her ground." Behind his mask, his lips curved ever so slightly. They entered the elevator and fell into silence.

"Oh, why did you come along, Tsumu? Don't tell me you need condolences because one of your videos flopped." Her voice had quite a mocking tone that makes Sakusa raise a brow and curve his lips slightly. Atsumu looking irritated, started pouting.

"No, the one with a new transition even went pretty viral, so fuck ya, and I tagged along because I wanted to catch up."

"No, you didn't," Sakusa says truthfully. "You just want to find out shit about me from university."

Akiko looked between them, snorted, and then fell into a fit of laughter. "I only do that after hours, you idiot. I won't give you gossip during my work hours. Now Kiyoomi, come over here and give me your phone." As Atsumu looked at her, hurt and disappointed, Sakusa made his way over to her side and handed her the unlocked phone.

Promptly she downloaded the app, and while waiting, she told Sakusa. "Since I know what you might be interested in, I can give you a list of hashtags that let the algorithm know pretty quickly what videos to show you." Atsumu, who made his way over by now, drew back in confusion to look over her shoulder. "Why'd he need that?"

"Because if the first five minutes are just bad American comedy sketches or dance videos, he's gonna put down the app immediately. Am I right?" Sakusa thought about it for a second and then nodded. She hands him a sheet of paper that was an actual list of things that sound interesting. It ranged from #volleyball to #planttiktok, which felt like plants were making their own videos first, but it was probably about plant care and things similar to that.

As his eyes roamed the list, it landed on a crossed out bullet point. Reading the name #thirsttrap, he decides to not ask why she crossed it out. Probably had her reasons. Instead, he asked, "Can I take the list with me?" Akiko looked at him for a second confused but nodded slowly. "Sure. Just promise me that your gonna talk to me before you post your first videos, okay?"

Sakusa agrees and shoves the paper into his gym bag. They set up Sakusas account with the handle @sakusakiyoofficial and the profile picture in his Twitter profile. Atsumu has been quietly observing.

Sensing his unusual behavior, Akiko nonchalantly says, "Oh would you look at the time." Both perk up as she clocks out for the day on her screen. Sakura's eyes wide in shock as he looks at his friend, who might as well just coughed directly at his face. "I'm off the clock now, so Tsumu, do you wanna know how Kiyoomi was his first time getting drunk with our friends."

Atsumus face lights up like a little kid about to receive a giant birthday present. As he furiously nods, Sakusa just freezes up because that was a very embarrassing story.

"So this was in our second year on his birthday because he refused to drink before 20. We went out to a pretty quiet bar, and mind you we were 5 people in our group. Five shots in, this idiot saunters over to the bar, gets on the counter, and before anyone could stop him, he shouted, 'Everyone, I just turned twenty, and I wanna do a shot with everyone who wants to'"

Atsumu has, at this point, started to laugh uncontrollably as his old friend continues, "And of course everyone cheered and agreed. So he ended up taking another 7 shots with the other people we didn't know and 2 with the bartenders."

So Atsumu was now practically crying on the floor with laughter and started to gasp for air. While trying to catch his breath simultaneously, he said, "Didn't know ya were that darin' Omi-Omi. Who'd have thought that ya actually knew how to have fun."

Sakusa picked up his bag as Atsumu saying that seemed to finally free him from sitting there frozen and mortified as who he thought was his friend betrayed him like that. Even though he knows in the long run, it was no big deal.

It's not like the first time she told that story. Hell, Sakusa even told people that story on multiple occasions, but nonetheless, he felt betrayed that she told it to Atsumu, who shouldn't have ever known. It's basically blackmailing material in his hands.

As he made his way to the door because he thought they were done for the day, Akiko added one last detail to the story that they mostly leave out when telling others.

"Dude over there," She pointed at the spiker, who looked absolutely mortified as he realized what she was about to say, "spent 20000 Yen that night. He woke up with a hangover, a stranger in his bed, and an angry call from his parents" Atsumu had very much lost his sanity at that point.

"Why would you tell him that?" Sakusa asked, trying to sound at least a little bit calm and collected, and was glad that his mask covered the blush that very likely settled on his face right now.

"Tsumu had an equally embarrassing drunk story happen the night of our graduation, and I felt compelled to add the extra detail." Atsumu immediately went quiet and blushed furiously, and Sakusa looked at her intrigued. His eyes shifted over to his teammate.

"You have to tell me that story in the future. Otherwise, it's not fair," Sakusa said with his usual monotone voice, feeling better immediately after understanding that she would also give him blackmail stories on Atsumu to keep him in line. Happy with that, Sakusa opened the door to the hallway and said, "But not today. I wanna head home now."

As he closed the door, he heard a faint goodbye from his manager friend and headed home. Mentally going through the list again that was sitting in his bag. The crossed-out bullet point eventually crossed his mind again. He took his phone out and googled thirst trap just to know why she crossed it out.

When he went on Urban Dictionary, he gauged his eyes at what it said:  
_A sexy photograph or flirty message is posted on social media for the intent of causing others to publicly profess their attraction. This is done not to actually respond or satisfy any of this attraction, but to feed the poster's ego or need for attention, at the expense of the time, reputation, and sexual frustration of those who view the image or reply._

There was seriously a term for that?

It definitely made sense that she crossed it out on her list but then again, she must have at least considered that he would like it to even write it down in the first place.

'What does a thirst trap on Tiktok even look like? Like people looking into a fuckin camera shirtless or what?' He pockets his phone, deciding to find precisely that out when he gets home.

Okay, so when he first heard the idea of getting a Tiktok this morning, he thought it was absolutely ridiculous. After he finished his daily after-practice routine, and laid himself down on the couch with his dog Yuriko.

Instead of watching TV, he took his first look at the app and completely lost track of time watching videos under the various hashtags on the list. Plant-themed videos were one thing, but the satisfying cleaning and cooking videos ultimately made him fall down a rabbit hole for several hours.

As he looked outside at the darkening sky, he got a notification from Akiko.

_Hey, please follow these accounts when you have time_

  
_@msbymeian_

_@inunakishion_

_@msbytomas_

_@msbybarnes_

_@heyheyheybokuto_

_@thebettermiya_

_@ninjashojo_

_You know how I am about formalities like this_

_Sure I know_

_I'll do it soon_

_Oh, and thanks for the list. I really like what I've seen so far_

_That's great_

_Yeah, with you, I knew I had to put in some more effort_

_I was just cautious_

_And I appreciate it_

_Anyways see you tomorrow_

_Have a nice night_

_You too_

Doing what was asked of him, he skimmed through each of his teammates' accounts, saving Atsumus for last because he was dreading that one.

The older members only seemed to post a few times a week, although it was always pretty different. A few volleyball or workout clips. On Meians account, there are even some videos of his family.

Inunaki actually posted quite a lot of clips of the team. Mostly behind the scenes of Hinatas, Bokutos, and Atsumus shenanigans and some storytimes from previous relationships or drunken nights out. Sakusa couldn't deny that he appreciated Inunaki sense of humor and let himself laugh at the short clips of his teammates.

Bokutos and Hinatas accounts were easy enough, to sum up. Lighthearted, idiotic, chaotic, and if anything, well received. The level of engagement those guys got was ridiculous, or at least that was what he thought until he came to the point of looking at the Atsumus page.

When he watched one of the more recent videos with a lot of views, he suddenly remembered that Sakusa wanted to find out what a thirst trap on Tiktok looked like as he realized that he just did. The video was basically just Atsumu doing a transition where he pulled his shirt off to flex his muscles in a mirror. The locker room mirror Sakusa realized as he looked at it more intensely.

Sakusa continued to scroll through his account, being greeted with a right mix of all the content his other teammates usually post, and at least every two days, there was a thirst trap sprinkled in there. When he went back to the top of the page, his fingers clicked on the first video he watched of Atsumus page.

Why he did that Sakusa couldn't explain himself, but he stalled and just repeatedly looked as Atsumus shirt magically flew off his body right on the beat drop, and his teammate flexed his muscles.

As he looked into the camera with a look, Sakusa realized he was familiar with and strangely looked good on the blond. It was that face he made when Atsumu was flirting with someone.

Sakusa shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind, and exited the video pressed the follow button on Atsumus profile. He turned his phone off and went on to take a shower and brush his teeth.

While the water ran over his body, he started to think about what Akiko will probably ask him tomorrow. 'What will I post' His mind flashed back to what his friend said this morning. 'Well, I can just ask Akiko for more ideas tomorrow.'

After his usual morning run with Yuriko and his morning shower, Sakusa enters the app again while eating breakfast and, like the day before, loses himself scrolling through his for your page, following a few other accounts to join his following list after his teammates.

Like always, he runs into Atsumu on his walk to the gym a block before they reach the gym. Sakusa puts on his usual scowl behind his mask as his setter talks away about his brother being over this weekend.

"And?"

"Huh? What'd ya mean and?'"

"Why are you telling me?"

Atsumu pouts at that "Cause I wanna tell ya what's going on. If ya don't like what I talk about, then talk a bit more yourself" The blond looks away and starts picking up his pace a bit more.

Sakusa sighs and thinks, 'this stupid idiot is going to make me commit a felony at some point.' as he speeds up as well.

"I don't mind the quiet it's not like I ask you to talk to me." He says bluntly, to which Atsumu just pouts even more and starts muttering to himself.

Sakusa decides to ask him something even though he might regret it already. "So you post thirst traps on your Tiktok? Why?" The silent disapproval seems to go entirely over Atsumu's head, or the setter ignores it as he smirks.

"Because I'm hot. I know it and so do my thousands of followers who eat that stuff up like candy. It gets views and boosts my ego." Sakusa raises a brow at that. 'Yeah, no shit. Makes you seem very conceded.'

"Besides, it wasn't even my idea, Akiko came up with it when she first told me to make an account."

Sakusa perks up at that and hopes very silently that she won't bring up the idea for him. Atsumu seems to notice his change in behavior as they enter the gym complex's front door and head to the locker room. As if sensing what Sakusa is thinking, he assures him that she only brought up the idea to him and no one else on the teams, so she probably won't ask him to do that.

"She seems to know ya pretty well and is good at her job," Atsumu says before entering the locker room. "What she said yesterday is probably what she expects of ya. So don't ya worry your pretty head about it."

With that, Atsumu greets the others in the room and saunters over to his locker. Sakusa stares at him for a moment and then heads over to his own locker to change. Hinata then comes up to him with a very cheery, "Good Morning, Omi-san. So did you make your account already?" Sakusa nods quietly, and Atsumu chimes in, "His handle is @sakusakiyoofficial."

"Thanks, Atsumu. I was just about to ask." The ginger smiled as he whipped his phone out and followed Sakusa. That's when he noticed that the other account already follows him back.

"When did you follow me?"

"Last night. Akiko gave me everyone's usernames and asked me to follow everyone."

Bokuto perks up at that and asks directly, "Did you like our videos?" He and Hinata looked at Sakusa expectantly, and Atsumu cuts in before he could answer, "He seems to like my thirst traps."

Everyone suddenly looked between them as Atsumu smugly grinned at his spiker. Sakusa, already wanting to strangle him, stared back at him." I never said I liked the thirst traps. I just asked you why you're the only one who posts them."

He turns to tie his shoe, answering Bokuto's original question. "I looked at everyone's profile and liked what most of you upload. Especially the videos on Inunaki-sans page. That one recent where Miya blocks with his face. I saved that immediately."

Everyone erupts into laughter at Sakusas's dry tone, remembering that incident very vividly and how Inunaki laughed his ass off for a good five minutes, happy that he caught the moment on camera. Atsumu just turns around angrily as he pulls his shirt on. As the attention shifted from Sakusa to Atsumu yelling at the others to stop laughing, he quietly leaves.

Later Akiko came over from her office to discuss what he wanted his first post to be. They settled on filming him during practice today and at the end of the day after the video was posted. The account was starting to get promoted on his other socials, and the ones of his teammates his following began to grow exponentially fast.

"From now on, I'm giving you pretty much full creative control. I only gave a few instructions for the other guys' accounts. They pretty much do whatever they want now, so just have fun. But anything, relationships, and important announcements go through me first. You know why, right?"

Sakusa just nods, not having forgotten her horror experience concerning that topic during her time as an intern on this job when they were in their final university semester.

Back then, Bokuto kissed his now-boyfriend Akaashi on his Instagram story, which wasn't known to the public before. It caused her a restless 36 hours of dealing with the coming out of such a big internet personality. Even though the public's reception was mostly positive, she still wanted to give Bokuto and especially Akaashi personal space and took on every interview request by herself.

Happy with Sakusas understanding, the woman said her goodbyes to everyone as they started their individual training. On queue, Atsumu and Barnes came up to Sakusa to play a few sets three on three against Bokuto, Inunaki, and Hinata. Never say no to a bit more practice everyone took their stances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfic in 4 years, so if I'm rusty sorry. But I wanted to fuel my obsession with Sakuatsu even more. One last thing: Akiko has less involvement later, but for now, she helps me with the plot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atsumu has poor impulse control and follows Sakusa to the park only to invite him to hang out with Akiko and Osamu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the fic is mostly Sakusa centric but this chapter and the third are actually more Atsumu centric. thanks for all the kudos and bookmarks after chapter 1.

On their way back to their respective apartments, Atsumu started up the conversation again. "So, what are ya doing today, Omi-Omi?" He smiled innocently enough for Sakusa to indulge with him in this conversation.

"I'm going to call Motoya later and then go to the park with Yuriko."

"Your precious little lady?" 

It sounded mocking because a photo he posted a few weeks back had the same caption, but Sakusa couldn't care less. He loved that dog with all his heart. So he just nodded and smiled very obviously behind his mask. So much his eyes almost shut, and a loving "Yeah" left his lips. 

Atsumu just stared at him in awe and asked: "Anythin' too special about her that I don't know if she makes the great Sakusa Kiyoomi this soft?" 

Sakusa snorts at that as they come to the intersection where their ways home part: "She's just important to me. If you ask Akiko, nice enough, she might tell you about her a bit more. She helped me find Yuriko. Anyways see you tomorrow." 

With that, Sakusa turned on his heel and left Atsumu waiting at the traffic lights, baffled at the person he just talked to because that certainly couldn't have been his prickly teammate. 

A familiar ringtone pulls him back to reality. As Atsumu quickly declines the call, he types at his brother that he'll call back in a few minutes when he's back home. Then the man goes on his merry way to his apartment two blocks over.

'I should probably make a few new videos later. After that last big one, I have to step up my game, though.' As his thoughts drift off to another fun part of his job and he enters his apartment building, his neighbor greets him at the elevator. 

"Hey Miya-san, how are you doing today?" It was the older lady from the floor below him with a few bags of fresh food in her hands. "Hello, Watanabe-san. Excellent, how was the market today?" 

The door opens, and they step into the elevator as she answers: "Lively as always. How is your training coming along?" 

"Amazing. Our team hasn't been this good in all my years playing 1st Division. We just got two new amazing spikers for me to play with." 

"Gosh, you sound like a little boy who just got a new toy to play with. I'll be rooting for you." The door opens to her hallway, as she smiled sweetly.

“Thank you Watanabe-san. Take care.”

As the door closes, he hears her saying, "Oh, no problem at all. Take care as well."

He really liked most of the other tenants in his building. They were all really nice to him and gave him a sense of normality after some crazy events or headlines.

As he makes his way over to his apartment door, he calls up his brother, who promptly picks up while Atsumu enters his apartment. "What'd ya want, Samu?" he says a bit more nicely than his brother would be used to.

On the other line, his brother, sounding surprised, goes, "What got ya in such a good mood."

"Just had a good day. Omi was actually kinda nice today, our practice was good, and I ran into the nice lady downstairs. So anyway, why'd ya call?" 

"Was wondering if you wanna invite Kei to go out to eat with us on Saturday. I'd love to also catch up with her."

"Sure, I can ask her. But don't sulk if she says no."

"Yeah, not like ya wouldn't do that too. But anyway, that's all I wanted to ask."

"Okay, when are ya gonna get here Friday night or Saturday morning?"

"Saturday morning. Do ya mind picking me up from the station at 7?"

"That early!?" 

His brother just hummed on the other line. 

"Fine, okay, but we're walking to my place. I'm not driving those few blocks. So no suitcase like last time. Got it, idiot."

"Sure, whatever ya say, Tsumu. Thanks, see ya on Saturday."

"Yeah, see ya" With that, they hang up, and Atsumu goes about his afternoon. After filming content and saving it to post later, he goes over to his window with a cup of tea and just looks out onto the street for a while. About to open his Twitter, he notices a familiar jacket on the sidewalk. That ugly neon yellow is something he would always recognize. 

Next to Sakusa was his little Yuriko as they just stand there on the sidewalk. Atsumus head sparked an idea that only he could come up with. He set down his almost empty cup, grabbed his jacket, keys, and phone, and ran down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. 

Right as he stepped out the building, Sakusa was changing to his side of the road and walked as Atsumu assumed from their earlier conversation to the park not too far away from them. 

Without much thought, he followed after Sakusa with a safe distance between them. 

He waits until Sakusa sits down somewhere in the park to let Yuriko play before he walks up. But as Sakusa looks up to notice him approaching, Atsumu suddenly realizes that he has zero ideas why he followed his teammate.

Too bad. The setter can't just turn around now. So he walks up with an awkward "Hey Omi-kun" and just hopes this won't be a complete disaster. 

"Hey, Miya. What a coincidence that you're here too." Immediately taken aback by the missing disdain in his teammate's voice, Atsumu tests the waters and goes, "Yeah, when ya told me ya were going to the park earlier, I figured I haven't been here in a long time. I didn't think I would actually run into ya though. It's pretty late after all."

"Yeah, Motoya had more to talk about than I initially thought, but she still needs this walk, so maybe that's why." Sakusa hasn't taken his eyes off the small dog running at the doves to scare them away. He silently takes his phone out, and when Atsumu hears a Tiktok audio playing, he realizes what Sakusa is doing. 

"This seems very on-brand for ya." He laughs as the dog owner calls her over, and the audio fades out. The dog jumps up on the bench, and Sakusa rubs his head while saving what he filmed. He pockets the phone and then answers: "I guess so."

Atsumu sits down and, looking at Yuriko, asks curiously: "What dog race is she anyway. Not something ya see every day, ya know?" 

"I'm well aware she looks a bit foreign. She an Australian Shepherd mix with Husky. Kind of comes with the territory" Sakusas eyes crinkle as he pets, Yuriko. Atsumu, at this point, starts to think that Sakusa has a twin that just stood in for the real one today like Osamu and he used to do in middle school for specific tests. 

"Can I pet her too?" Sakusa looks at him for a second, thinking and stopping his own motions. As the dog perks up, he nods and takes his hand back. Yuriko first jumps back as Atsumu touches her head but eventually eases into the touch after she smelled his hand for a second. 

They stay like that for a while when a small and maybe stupid idea pops in his head again. Damn, he seems to have a lot of these today. 

"Hey, Omi-Omi?"

"Yeah, what is it."

"Remember that I told ya this morning that Samu is visiting this weekend?"

His teammate nods.

"So he asked me earlier if Kei wants to come out to eat with us on Saturday. How about ya join us as well?"

As the question leaves his mouth, he immediately wants to take it back, but he knows that would be even ruder now. It certainly doesn't help that Sakusa just looks at him quietly with a look Atsumu can't read yet. The silence between them stretches as only the sound of kids playing in the distance can be heard.

Atsumu promptly looks down and resumes petting the dog to calm his nerves a bit. Feeling Sakusas eyes on him feels like his skin is starting to slowly catch fire. He can feel the heat rising to his cheeks as his partner continues to say absolutely nothing to answer his question. Instead, he calls for Yuriko to come over. 

He stands up and finally answers: "If she's there, then sure. I can come with you. But you haven't asked her yet, have you?" Promptly Atsumu just nods his head.

"If she says yes, let me know. She might tell me that revenge story about you from high school when you're there." There is an audible mocking in his voice, but Atsumu chooses not to let that affect him right now. Instead, he focuses on the fact that technically Sakusa just agreed to hang out with him, so he counts it as a win. 

"I'll do that." 

"Well, okay, then see you tomorrow Miya."

"Yeah, see ya tomorrow Omi-Omi." Atsumu tries to hold back his gigantic grin as long as Sakusa still looks at him. When he turns around and leaves, Atsumu just lets his body go through with his natural reaction to such a milestone in their relationship. He might actually have a chance to really become friends with Sakusa instead of just being teammates.

Deciding to wait a bit more before going home, he walks around the park and notices a pretty spot by the pond that he's never seen before. When it gets warmer again, he has to remember taking a few pictures there or invite his teammates to have a few snacks over there. 

Some doves fly away as he turns around and begins his way back to his apartment, all the while constructing a text to send to Akiko. When he's satisfied, he sends it and goes on his merry way.

He drinks the now cold leftover tea in his apartment as he gets a call from his old high school manager. 

"Hey, dumbass."

"Still not very fond of texting, I see. Ya really haven't changed a bit, have ya ~Kei-chan?"

"Proudly still the same bitch you met five years ago. Anyways you and Samu wanna go out to eat with me?" 

"Yup." For a second, he contemplates if he wants to surprise her with Sakusa on Saturday but decides against it. He doesn't want to get on her bad side. And bringing surprise guest is something she hates. "I ran into Omi-kun earlier, and he agreed to join us if you're there too. So how about it?"

That causes a short moment of silence on the other line. Then Akiko answers, "Sure. I'll come along if Kiyoomi is there even better. Kinda surprised he agreed, though."

"Yeah, shocked the hell out of me, but I'm not gonna complain. Kinda want to get to know him better, and if that means bringing him along for this, so be it." Atsumu smiled at that. The thought of getting along with Sakusa and breaking down a few of his walls seemed like a fun challenge. And he's not one to back down from one of those.

"Okay, then just text me details over the week and give Samu a heads up that you invited Kiyoomi too. I don't wanna deal with you guys fighting in public again. It's really embarrassing."

"Yeah, gotcha, no fighting with Samu, and give everyone a heads up about everyone else." At this point, he was just straight mocking her authoritarian aura when it came to planning hangouts. 

On the other line, he just heard a sarcastic "Ha Ha Ha," and then the line went silent as she hung up. Atsumu was used to that, though, so he just carried on texting Sakusa that she agreed and let his brother know that both Akiko and his prickly teammate would join them on Saturday. 

Not long after, both text back. Sakusa just giving him a confirmation that he'll join them on the weekend, and Osamu is confused why Atsumus's teammate will suddenly join them.

_Doesn't he hate you_

_I wouldn't say hate_

_That's such a strong word, and no_

_Ya sure?_

_Course I'm sure_

_He wouldn't have agreed if he hated me that much_

_How come ya even asked him in the first place_

_Met him at the park earlier, and after some talking, I just sorta asked_

_He said he'd agree if Kei is also there_

_So he said yes because of Kei, not you_

_Yeah I guess_

_But who in their right mind who's not our friend would just spend time with us alone_

_Good point. No one because you're insufferable_

_You're no better than I don't act all high and mighty with me_

_Oh shut up_

_Right back at ya_

Atsumu exited the messenger app and instead opened his Tiktok to post the videos he took earlier. While the first one is uploaded and his Following page appears, he remembers that he hasn't followed Sakusa like everyone else this morning. He was too busy being bitter about the comment on the blocking video.

Pulling up his account, he sees the video that his teammate filmed earlier in the park already posted. Looking at it for a few replays, he liked it and looked at the second one, which was just a bunch of clips from their practice today. His servers, a few spikes, and receives with an audio in the back are very popular right now. 

He liked that one as well and then went back on his feed to click the follow button noticing that Sakusas's follower count already came close to his own and had probably exceeded everyone else on the team. How Sakusa was able to have a giant fanbase without seeming to put much effort in was really astonishing. 

Going back to his drafts, he posted the remaining two videos for the day quickly and then switched to Twitter while preparing his dinner. By the time he sat down to eat, Atsumu just fell down a rabbit hole of trolling some hate pages. Thanking them for their 'undying support' and 'sending much love.' 

Laughing at some memes, he stopped and then wordlessly put his phone down when the pages he trolled before started sending him another slur of hate, including a few just straight up being death threats. 

Before his mind starts to spiral, he hears a specific ringtone, notifying him of Hinata sending him a message. He knows exactly what the message is going to say.

_Hey Atsumu, don't let this get you down_

_You're great, and all these people don't know you_

_so whatever they say is irrelevant_

_Thanks, Shoyo-kun_

_I really appreciate ya reassuring me every time this happens_

He smiles because he really is thankful that his friends cheer him up when this happens. It's not that bad anyway. Most of the time, he just laughs at shit like this. But now and then, it also sours his mood, and since he had such a good day, he really doesn't want it spoiled by some dumb hate pages. 

_Always happy to cheer you up_

_Even though I know, you could handle this on your own_

_It's never a bad thing to reassure friends that they're loved and appreciated_

'That ginger is really reincarnated sunshine. So cheerful and warm. Everyone should have a Shoyo in their life' Atsumu thinks as he shoots Hinata a thank you and good night text.

After washing up his dishes and getting ready for bed, Atsumu does his absolute best to shove the incident into the back of his mind and instead gets on with his evening meditation before heading to bed. Laying down, he slowly slips into that state of mind right before sleep.

To not let his mind start to go to places he doesn't want it to go and not wanting to deal with any thoughts of unsureness or self-hatred, he thinks about coming Saturday. About how it's hopefully gonna be a good night and a gateway to get to know his teammate just a bit better.

The next morning everyone in the locker room greets him with that particular concern that they always show him when he gets those mass amounts of hate online. Just Sakusa stays quiet, and while Atsumu is at first really worried about that when Meian asks why their teammate's been so quiet this morning, he just goes, "I don't have a single clue what you're talking about. Did something happen last night?"

It then dawns on them that he probably wasn't on Twitter since yesterday night. Hinata, just to confirm their suspicion asks, "Oh, did you not see those stupid hate messages Atsumu got on Twitter last night?" 

Their teammate just shakes his head, "Haven't been on Twitter since yesterday at lunch. So no. But in that case, don't worry, Miya. You might be a complete idiot, but don't take any of those losers behind the screen too seriously. In the end, you're the successful athlete, and they're just a bunch of nobodies with too much free time on their hands. Especially if they take the time to insult you." 

Everyone falls silent as the words of their teammate float around the room. Completely unbothered, he ties his shoes and heads out the door to the court.

Atsumu breaks the silence, "Was that his way of cheerin' me up or just an elaborate way to insult me by sayin' haters waste their time on me." The older players start laughing and Inunaki, probably a genius of the human mind at this point, just answers, "I think he doesn't know another way of cheering up. But he probably at least thought it was a compliment or lifting your mood."

"At least he also insulted those internet freaks more than you, I would say," Barnes chimed in. With that, everyone started to laugh again. This time Atsumu and his fellow monsters joined in. They finished changing and headed to the court to find Sakusa already starting his morning stretches. 

Atsumu sat down next to him, looked at Sakusa, and called out to him while doing his own stretches. As the spiker looked at him, Atsumu smiled and just said, "Thanks for cheerin' me up, Omi-kun!"

"No problem Miya. I need you to work at 100 %, so stuff like this bringing you down would just be a nuisance for everyone." With that, he got back to his stretches. 

Atsumu knew that Sakusa might be cold on the outside sometimes, but he couldn't deny that he at least cared about the team's collective good. Maybe not everyone individually, but this was part of caring about volleyball. If you care about the sport, you also have to care about your teammates.

Playing alone wasn't possible, so not caring would be self-sabotage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if Atsumus accent sounds a bit rough. Kinda not used to different speech patterns but I hope you can bear with me on that part.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atsumu and Osamu have to bear listening to Akiko telling Sakusa about the party they all had at Suna's after graduation and the start of the Sakuatsu bet

Saturday came along quickly. So when it was time to pick his brother up from the station, Atsumu sprung out of bed and made his way downstairs after just brushing his teeth and doing his skincare. He could do his hair when they got back here, and he could take a shower. 

Stepping outside, he was greeted by a cold gust of wind, reminding him of the upcoming volleyball season in a month. Walking through the streets this early in the morning on the weekend wasn't normal for him. Atsumu often opted to sleep comfortably till at least 9 in the morning.

The September so far has been quite pleasant, and he hopes deep down it would stay like that for a few more weeks, at least before fall starts up with rainstorms and stronger winds. 

Heading over to the station, he already sees his brother waiting for him. They greet each other and start to head back to Atsumus place.

"Just so ya know, Samu, I'm gonna shower right when we get home. So if ya want to eat somethin', ya have to make it." 

"Is this your elaborate way of getting me to make breakfast for ya too? If so, why even ask. Ya know I would've done that anyway."

Atsumu mutters some curses under his breath because his brother had a much too easy time deciphering him. Better than anybody else, and he hated it.

"Whatever, asshole!" he screamed.

"Must you be so loud like this all the time, Miya?" Promptly the twins whipped their heads to the owner of the familiar voice. Sakusa stares at them indefinitely and not even needing to hear the answer.

"Omi-Omi, what are ya doing up so early."

"Probably walkin' his dog, ya moron."

Atsumu ignored the insult from his brother as he noticed the small dog beside Sakusa. Without a second thought, he crouched down and held his hand out to the creature that seemed to recognize him immediately as she shoved her head against Atsumus hand to get petted.

Atsumu just smiled, saying, "I see. Goin' on a morning walk, huh?" It looked like the question was more directed at the dog than her owner, but he answered him anyway, "Yeah, I take her out on my morning runs with me every day." 

"Nice.", Atsumu said, standing up again, "Well then, I won't hold ya up anymore. See ya tonight."

Sakusa nodded at him and began running again, with Yuriko pacing beside him. Osamu looked at his brother, a bit dumbfounded. 'Since when is that moron that genuinely nice to anyone? Is he fucking possessed?' 

Atsumu turned to him, "What?" 

"You're so fucking weird."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean now." 

"Exactly what I said. Now come on. It's getting cold just standing around, and I wanna eat something soon enough."

They started walking again, with Atsumu continually glaring at him for that last completely unprompted comment from his twin. Arriving at his building, they step into the elevator as Osamu drops another bomb on him.

"So, are you like in love with him, or what was that just now."

Atsumu turns to his brother with the apparent thought that Osamu lost his mind at this point. Not wanting to answer his stupidity and being quite frankly too tired for this topic, he just mutters, "Should've eaten ya in the womb when I had the fuckin chance."

"I'm the stronger one. If anythin', I would've eaten you," his brother just answers nonchalantly. Osamu reminds himself who he's talking to here. It'll probably take some considerate amount of time before his brother figures out his feelings that are already as obvious to Osamu as the fact that the sky is blue. 

Atsumu jostles out his key to open the door, and he grinds through his teeth, "I'm fuckin' older than ya. I'm obviously the stronger one." 

"Three minutes older doesn't mean shit, and also first doesn't mean strongest," Osamu says back as they enter the apartment.

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean in what situation is the first to finish, not automatically the best."

"Sex, for example." Atsumu looks at him for a second as Osamu starts to smirk. The setter resists the ever-growing urge to hit his twin over the head with a pot from his cabinet. Mom would just get mad at him for maybe causing his brother another head trauma. 

Instead, he just opts for a simple, "Fuck you, Samu!" and walks off the bathroom. As Osamu sees his brother walk away, he shakes his head because he knows that Atsumu wasn't actually wrong. But he's also glad he came up with that example on the spot. 

"Tonight's gonna be one interestin' night," he says to himself, walking over to the kitchen and hearing the water in the bathroom start running.

They meet up with Sakusa in the lobby of Atsumus apartment building and walk to the restaurant close by that they settled on. It was a pretty good ramen place that Atsumu frequents at least once a month. Akiko already sat down in one of the booths with a drink standing in front of her.

Sitting down, Osamu hugs his old high school friend and asks if she had already waited for a long time.

"Maybe five minutes, but it's no big deal. This way, I already got a head start on drinking."

Sakusa raises an eyebrow at that, "You aren't here with your car?" The woman shakes her head smiling. "Staying over at Tsumus place for the night and came here with a cab." 

The spiker seemed satisfied with that answer as Osamu asks away, "So Kei, how'd you even get to know his teammate over there?" He points at Sakusa, who was currently occupying the menu already out on the table."Was his volleyball team's manager. Although officially it was called the coach's management assistant. But it's basically all the stuff I did when I was in high school."

Sakusa, without looking up, asks, "I never really asked, but how do you know them again?" 

"I moved to Hyogo in my last year of high school and was their team manager for that final year. Not like they needed it that much, but it was my club activity the two years before, so I didn't really give them much of a choice."

Sakusa now looked back up and fixated his gaze on Atsumu, which doesn't go unnoticed by the other two. Not breaking eye contact with the blond, he asks the woman next to him, "Do you mind telling me that long-overdue story about that night of your graduation?" 

Atsumus eyes widen in shock, and an intense blush starts to creep on his face. He protests immediately, "No way. I'm way too sober to have to relive that memory."  
"I kindly remind you that we were all fully sober when Akiko outed me in front of you." Right now, it was very telling that Sakusa enjoyed how much Atsumu squirmed under his gaze. He was obviously smiling behind his mask as he continued, "It's only fair for you to experience this type of embarrassment sober."

Osamu and Akiko looked at each other for a second and then started to laugh. Osamu pointed at her, "You wanna tell or should I do start." She waved him off, saying, "It's only fair if I tell it myself." 

Atsumu looked at her with pleading eyes as she ignored him entirely at setting the scene.

"So the night of graduation, all of us got together at Suna's house. You know Suna, right?"

"Middle Blocker on Motoya's team, yeah, I'm familiar."

"Good. So we-"

"Excuse me, are you guys ready to order?" The waitress cut in before Akiko could utter another word, so they went ahead and ordered quickly. After the lady had left, Akiko picked her storytelling back up.

"So we all went to Suna's, his parents were both out on work trips, and his sister stayed over at her grandparents for the weekend. So we had the whole house to ourselves, nothing off limits, which later on was probably not a good idea, but we'll get there."

She took a quick sip of her drink to drag it out for dramatic purposes, probably. If she knows anything about anything, then how to hold the tension in a good story. Clearing her throat, she continued, "So as one thing led to another, Suna busted out his parents' liquor stock like an hour into us being there. Right after dinner, he got up and left for a minute. Then came back with six bottles of pretty good sake. Like kinda expensive shit."

"Still kinda suspicious he had a bottle for everyone on hand," Osamu threw in as commentary.

"Who was there again? Specifically, I mean," Sakusa asked.

"Okay, so besides me, the twins, Suna, Ginjima, and Kosako. Like I said all the third years. Anyways back to the actual story. So we all got one bottle, and Suna, an asshole in all his glory, challenged everyone to finish the bottle as fast as they can." 

Osamu and Atsumu laughed for a second but then realized what followed. Unwavering, their friend continued as Sakusa listens, amused, "So the twins pop open the bottles and immediately start downing like half before anyone could say a thing."

"Okay, but don't act like that was surprising to anyone.", Atsumu defended them and immediately shut his mouth when she glared him down, "No, that was the whole problem. Suna knew it would happen and still prompted it. Although I have to say he also probably came to regret it later." 

"Moving on. When the two took a breather, I tried to take the bottles away immediately. Kiyoomi, you remember that one aunt I told you about?"

"The one that lived in Germany for a better part of your life?"

"Yes, she taught me on a trip a few years before how it's essential to pace yourself when you drink alcohol for the first time. So I tried to explain that to them as the others also started drinking their bottles. But since no boys ever wanna listen to me at first when it comes to the responsible consumption of alcohol, not like you were much better in that department, I knew I would have a long night." Sakusa, who had been smiling so far, had his face fall flat he remembered the story she told to Atsumu on Monday.

Atsumu promptly relaxes and giggles a bit while Akiko continued, "Anyways, so after like 30 minutes or something, I suddenly had to take care of five 18-year-old drunk teenagers who were all acting like a bunch of children. I wasn't sober myself. Otherwise, I might have considered leaving them there to their own devices."

Osamu takes a second to thank the waitress as she brings the drinks of the boys over. But before he can even grab the glass, his old friend stops them.   
"You only get to take a sip when I'm done telling the story. Kiyoomi had to suffer through his sober, and so will you guys."

They nodded reluctantly as she moved on with the story, "So as soon as the alcohol took effect, they were all over the place. First notably, I had to take care of Kosako and Ginjima, who started crying about how they're gonna miss the team dearly and all that. So I had to reassure them that we were all gonna be fine and they can easily manage without us. It calmed them down enough that they stopped crying, and I got them to drink some water in between while they tried to finish their bottles. Suna, as bad of an idea as it was, at least stayed quiet and reserved like when he's sober. Just a few more sarcastic and snide comments than usual. Like a bratty kid critiquing an adult while also just being unhelpful. But the twins, on the other hand, were ten times more uncontrolled."

"They didn't listen when I told them what my aunt had told me and had finished their respective bottles in a few minutes. So when the alcohol took effect, it was swift and intense. They also took full advantage of having full access without limitations to the house as they unbeknownst to Suna went to his parents closet and tried on his mom's clothes."

Sakusa snorted, "You two tried on some else's mom's clothes. Like dresses and blouses and shit." Atsumu and Osamu uncomfortably sunk deeper into their seats as Akiko nodded and realized in shock that she started tapping on her phone. 

She turned the screen over to Sakusa who's usually composed mask fell completely as he erupted into deep laughter that sounded so beautiful in Atsumus ears he forgot his embarrassment for a moment.

"So this was Atsumu in one of the moms fancy gala dresses and Osamu in one of her pretty summer dresses. I didn't even take the photo. I called for Suna when I found them sitting against the wall of the bedroom, and the first thing he did even before telling them off was taking like a billion of these." 

"Got to say kinda suits them. Surprised Miya even fit into that gala dress.", Sakusa says after he calmed down a bit. Immediately an intense blush rises to Atsumus cheeks.

"Well, it didn't stay like that for long. When they noticed Suna taking the pictures, they started flexing and posing. Osamu ripped his dress down the front, and Atsumu tripped over the fabric on his skirt, trying to stand up. He completely tore it up to his thigh. That's when Mister foxy eyes stopped taking pictures and hit them instead. We later found out that both the dresses were designer and they had to promise to pay the mom back."

"I did that a year later after getting into V-League."

"Only had enough money to finally do it like last year when my shop popped off."

The twins looked terrified, thinking to the disappointment and anger from Suna's mom. 

"They also vomited in Suna's room later, so I think all of them got served some serious payback by some gods for not listening to me. Anyways. I want to show you my personal highlight before we start drinking. Since I got you both here, I thought I could show you now."

Now the twins looked at her, baffled and partially scared because they couldn't remember anything more embarrassing happening that night. Akiko smiled as she tapped on her phone again, and when the young woman found what she was looking for, she laid her phone on the table, and a video started playing. 

It was pretty dark, but you could vaguely make out that the phone was lying in her lap because it filmed her face.

A voice that Atsumu recognized was his own spoke, "Kei-chan, now that we're done with high school, I just feel like taking over the world, you know." The Atsumu in the video slurred a bit, and the one in real-time just listened curiously.

"What's your dream team Atsumu," that was Akikos voice. The question was wildly out of context. But it was apparent the video started after the conversation had already been going for a while. 

"Black Jackals. The team I signed on to what else?" he asked, bewildered.

"No, I mean, who do you want to set to someday. What spikers would satisfy all your setter fantasies?" In the video, Akiko sounded very sincere. While Osamu and Sakusa just waited for the digital Atsumu to answer, the real one caught a glimpse of his friend winking at him. At that moment, he heard it.

"Ya know, I kinda wanna get my turn with Omi-kun from Itachijama, and do you remember Shoyo-kun from Karasuno?" Akiko hummed as Atsumu went on, "I guess those two would definitely be on there. Some other guys as well, but they're my top priority."

Atsumu stared down at the phone, but he could very much feel Sakusas eyes boring into him. The Akiko sitting across him said, looking down, "My favorite part is coming up just now."

The Akiko in the video at that moment said, "What did you mean with taking over the world?"

"Honestly, not sure. It feels like a spur of the moment thing to say, right? Just sorta felt right to say it."

"Well, there's no doubt in my mind you're going to be very successful." The Akiko in the video laughed as she said that.

"Hey, mind promising me something?"

"Sure what?"

"Please don't stop being interested in volleyball. I know you told us that you want to go your own way after high school, which probably means we'll not have that much contact. But, when you are done with college, join me in that world again. Having a familiar face there sounds really nice since Osamu is not gonna be there."   
There's a short moment of silence as the three guys look up from the screen to their friend. In the video, Akiko says, "Sure, I'll think about it."

The clip ends there. Akiko pockets her phone again and grabs her glass. She holds it up expectantly and explains, "The funny part of the story ended after the dresses and vomiting part, I guess. But I wanted to show you guys my personal highlight as well when I'm already bringing up memories."

"That promise we made when you had just finished emptying your guts in the bathroom really stuck with me." The absurdity in that sentence caused them all to laugh.

"That's why I wanted to get involved in volleyball in university and after. So cheers to that, I guess." They smiled, and all held up their glasses and downed them in one go. Lastly, Akiko adds, "Probably wouldn't have met Kiyoomi if we didn't have that conversation, so thanks for that too, I guess." 

Osamu cuts in and smugly says, "I'm almost more interested in why Tsumu was so interested in Sakusa even in high school." This helped lighten the mood quickly as Atsumu and Sakusa both blushed, and Osamu and Akiko started laughing. 

At that moment, their food arrived, and they fell into a comfortable silence as they dug in. Throughout the night, everyone loosened up with two more rounds of sake shots that they downed. They had many laughs, and Sakusa told everyone about Akiko's drunken escapades from university to even the final plane field. 

A little bit tipsy, they left the restaurant at 9:30 pm and headed over to Atsumus apartment building. When arriving, they settled down in the living room, where they started to play a few rounds of never have I ever. 

Akiko set up what would be the last round with the first question, "Okay, an easy one. Never have I ever played volleyball in a club." The three reluctantly took their shot, and Sakusa continued, "Never have I ever worn a dress."

Laughing, the other three took their shots. Osamu went ahead with the next one, "Never have I ever had a crush on my club captain." Atsumu just looked at him, saying, "That's targetin'. Not fair!" 

Akiko giggled and pointed at Sakusa, who set his glass down after taking his shot, "No, it's not Miya. Now take your shot." Atsumu just stared at him, dumbfounded, not doing anything that was asked of him.

"Ya had a crush on your captain?" Sakusa nodded and gestured for him to drink and move on finally. Like in a trance and not taking his eyes off his teammate, he swallowed the liquor down. He fell quiet for a moment as if thinking of his question. Then something clicked, and he went ahead, "Oh, I got it. Never have I ever been in love with my best friend."

Akiko and Osamu raised their glasses as if they had expected that one at some point. Sakusa curiously raised a brow, and Akiko just said, "There was that girl in my first and second year of high school that I was just head over heels for. She technically was my best friend outside of the volleyball club and my real gay awakening."

Osamu just said, "Suna's mine." Sakusa nodded at them and stood up as he moved over to the kitchen to get a glass of water to sober up.   
"Hey Omi-kun, mind if I ask ya somethin'." Atsumu had followed him over and looked at his teammate with his best puppy dog eyes hoping not to get shot down. Sakusa gestured him an okay to continue while sipping his drink.

"It's been on my mind since this morning. But when do you and Yuriko go on that morning run?"

Sakusa swallowed, cleared his throat, and answered, "6:30 on weekdays and 7:30 on the weekends. Which reminds me I better leave soon, or it'll mess up my sleep schedule too much."

As Sakusa set his glass down on the isle. A bit hesitant, Atsumu asks, "Would ya mind if I joined you guys maybe? Kinda wanna improve my endurance a bit more, and running with her could help with pacing, ya know?"

Atsumu really hopes that his prickly teammate will agree. This could just open up another great window of opportunities to get to know Sakusa better and hopefully make progress on his quest to become friends with his new favorite spiker.

Sakusa looks at him, raising a brow, and Atsumu immediately backtracks a few steps following up his question with, "But if ya don't want to, then that's totally fine. Ya know I at least wanted to ask."

Atsumus eyes basically screamed, 'Please say something and put me out of my fucking misery,' at his teammate. Akiko and Osamu had to really try as not to laugh at the absurdity of this situation. Barely holding back a grin, Osamu leaned over to whisper into her ear.

"How long until he figures himself out. Up to bet on it?" Akiko just smirks and says, "Oh, you're on."

Before they can go ahead and start their bets, they hear Sakusa answer, "Sure, why not. But if you're too loud like this morning, then no." 

Atsumu trying as hard as he can to play this cool, just reassures Sakusa that he'll behave. Sakusa nods and goes over to retrieve his jacket at the door. "We can start on Monday. I usually run by this street anyway, so just be ready at 6:30, and I'll come to you." 

"Sounds great, Omi-Omi. Can't wait!" While Sakusa puts his jacket on, the other two come over to the entrance. Atsumu, just to be sure, asks, "Ya want us to come down with ya, or are ya gonna be okay?"

"I'm not a child. I can find the way out myself, but thanks anyway. Have a good night, everyone." After they say their goodbyes, Sakusa closes the door leaving the three standing at the entrance in silence. 

Akiko leans over to Osamu, and they look at Atsumu smiling at the closed door like he just won the fucking lottery, "I think a month at best."

"Nah, he'll need more time. I say three at least."

"Pretty sure they're gonna be together before the third match of the season.", Akiko answered, very sure of herself. 

"What are ya guys talkin' about?" Atsumu probably heard something about a match and looked at them confused. 

"It's nothing really. Let's just get ready for bed.", Akiko said to take their conversation away to a different topic. Although Atsumu looks at them, confused for a second, the alcohol in his veins probably made him tired enough not to ask further questions. 

He just shrugged while trotting back to the living room to get all the empty glasses and bottles. After setting them down by the sink, he looks over to see Osamu and Akiko lying on the giant couches. Atsumu gets them some blankets and then quickly brushes his teeth and falls into his bed. Eyes heavy and alcohol making him drowsy, he falls into a profound sleep moments after getting comfortable.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakusa finds a new running buddy and dog walking companion

Sunday was such a quiet day. To recover from his hangover, he sleeps a little longer until Yuriko basically bites him awake at 8:30 to remind him of their morning run. Sakusa holds his buzzing head and gets up. 

He leaves out a good portion of his usual morning routine to first accommodate his pet's needs. They are out of the house a mere ten minutes after he got woken up. Opting for just walking at first, they make their way down the usual road. 

Passing Atsumus building, he wonders if the twins and Akiko are still asleep. 'Probably, if they had more drinks after I left.' With that thought, he crosses sides and heads to the park. When his system caught up with his actions, he starts to fall into a light jog for the rest of the route. 

Yuriko jumps ahead of him a bit more than usual, and his mind starts to wander as his body goes on autopilot. 'Hopefully, the moron won't be a nuisance tomorrow. I really wouldn't want to deal with that.'

'Oh god, what if he follows me even when I tell him off.' Shaking the thought away immediately, he reminds himself, 'Miya is an asshole, but he's not that kind of an asshole.'

Back at home, Sakusa goes through his cooldown stretches, takes his shower, and gets on with a late breakfast. After finishing his house chores and going on his second shorter walk with Yuriko, he lays down on the couch to just spend the rest of the day on his socials. 

First, he opens Twitter. He interacts with fan pages or his teammates' dumb tweets, even answers a few DMs. Atsumu just uploaded a picture of two familiar people still lying sleeping on his couch.

The caption read: Always wild nights with these guys even though one's missing @sakusakiyoofficial @onigirimiya @akikokeimsby 

Sakusa likes the photo and comments smiling: @thebettermiya hope they survived in your care.

He closes the app and moves over to Tiktok. Like the first time he opened the app, he loses himself for hours on his for you page, having a few good laughs. He after a while notices that there was an ongoing live on his following page. Curious, he switches over and sees both Atsumu and Hinata having one going. 

Sakusa thinks about it for a second and clicks Atsumus live. Immediately he is greeted with the twins in the middle of an argument over whatever. When Osamu gets up to escape his brother probably, Atsumu starts to talk to the chat. 

"What did we do last night? Oh, I know because of that photo. Samu, Kei, Omi-kun, and I went out to eat and just caught up with each other. Kei is our team's social media manager and the team's head of PR, basically for everyone who isn't aware. She went to high school with Samu and me and knows Omi-kun from college. So we just wanted to have a fun night drinkin'. Samu hasn't seen her in person since our graduation years ago."

Sakusa typed into the chat: We went to university, you idiot.

With the number of people watching and spamming the chat, he probably wouldn't see it any-

"Oh, Omi-Omi, yer here. Yeah, university" He dramatically rolls his eyes, "It's not that much of a difference. Anyway haven't replied to yer Twitter comment yet, but Kei-chan left after lunch. And they were doing just fine in my care."

Sakusa snorted at that. Even when Atsumu was simply being watched by him, Sakusa found a way to rile him up. Osamu came back on screen, handing Atsumu a mug of something steaming. 

"Yeah, when ya left, Kei and I passed out on the couch pretty soon, and he gave us some blankets at least. So he's not lying, at least."

"Thank ya, Samu." Atsumu sounded dramatic at this point, but Sakusa just shook his head and typed into chat: At least he showed you some basic human empathy. Don't praise yourself for doing the bare minimum.

A few moments later, Osamu started uncontrollably laughing, and Atsumu furiously blushed. He immediately played it off, saying, "Oh would ya look at the time. Samu, we have to bring ya to the train station. Bye, everyone." 

Before the video cut, Osamu could be heard saying, "Still half an hour but sure." The live stream ended as a small chuckle ripped out of Sakusa's throat. Jokes at Atsumus expense may not be friendly all the time, but they are mostly always worth it for the following reactions.

Hinatas Livestream was now the only one on the bar at the top, and while he thought about also looking into that one for a second, he decided against it. Instead, he decides to start one of his own because it's been a hot minute since his last one, where his following was still moderately small. 

The spiker sets everything up and gets himself a cup of tea, beginning the live stream and waiting a few moments for people to start coming in. 

The numbers climb to a few thousand in five minutes, and he then answers some questions. Even telling his watchers why he started the account. All the while, he plays around with Yuriko in his lap.

"In the chat, someone asks: what do you think of your teammates' accounts. Sorry I couldn't catch your username. My teammates on here?" He visibly thinks about it for a while then answers, "Well, Inunaki-sans account is absolutely hilarious. He, for whatever reason, always catches the dumbest shit that happens in practice on camera. My recent favorite was Miya blocking with his face."

He snickers, thinking about that clip again, and then continues, "Speaking of him. His content is okay, I guess. I'm glad Akiko didn't force me to do those thirst traps he does. He's probably the only one with enough ego to do that. Hinata and Bokuto probably could do it, but I don't think they could take it serious enough."

While sipping his tea, he thinks about the others for a moment and then ends the topic referring to their accounts as pretty much exactly what he expected of them, "Not saying that's bad in any way. Don't go and put words in my mouth. I still very much like seeing what they do outside of practice. Some of their workout videos motivate me for a few extra pushups as well. So yeah, I guess that answers this question. Moving on."

Yuriko jumps out of his lap on queue and runs over to the kitchen. Yelping, she stops in front of the cabinet where her food is. "Or maybe that's my signal to give the princess her dinner. I guess I'll end the live stream then." He looks over at his dog, waving her tail exited, and turns back to the camera finishing the live stream with a friendly, "Thanks for watching everyone." 

Moments later, the video cuts, and he moves over to the kitchen. While Yuriko is happily eating up, her food Sakusa starts preparing his own dinner. Cooking isn't something he is too good at. So he just sticks to the basics when he doesn't feel like eating out. 

When he sits down with his mixed rice, he opens his Twitter again. Atsumu had actually replied to his previously written comment by now and tweeted a picture of holding up his middle finger at his brother leaving for the train station. 

Sakusa's lips curve up a bit as he recalls their earlier fight on the live stream. "Let's hope and pray he's in a better mood tomorrow," he exclaims into the emptiness of his apartment where only his dog could hear. As if agreeing with him, she lets out a small bark. 

Either his wishes from last night were miraculously heard by a friendly deity, or Atsumu was actually a pleasant running buddy. When he picked the blond up at his apartment, he just ushered a nice, "Good mornin' Omi-kun." And bend down to pet Yurikos head to greet her.

"You all ready to start?", Sakusa questioned him.

"Sure. Ya just lead the way. 'm sure I can keep up.", Atsumu practically cheered back at him, standing back up. 

Sakusa just nods and starts running Yuriko and Atsumu, following suit. 

They actually stay quiet for a bit until they reach Sakusas oh so familiar park bench to stretch before starting the more challenging part of his route. That's when Atsumu picks up a casual conversation.

"So Omi-Omi, what's the plan after stretches?"

"Two laps in the park in less than 15 minutes should be enough of a challenge for today. We can't full-on sprint because Yuriko can't keep up with that."

"Okay. Say, do ya usually run with music, or did ya just leave them at home for me today?", Atsumu smirked a bit when asking. 

But Sakusa shook his head while putting his second leg up on the bench for his final stretch, "I run without music since Yuriko just runs beside me without a leash. So I can just make sure she doesn't get hit or something when we cross streets or something like that."

Atsumu looks at the small creature next to Sakusa and hums in understanding.

Sakusa then looks up at him to signal that they can start now. For the next 14 minutes and 26 seconds, they silently run their laps and stop at the same bench to catch their breaths. Yuriko happily hopes around Atsumus feet and excitingly waves her tail.

"She seems to really like you." 

"Really?", Atsumu looks at his teammate exited and then bends down to pet the dog's head again. He just hears a noise of confirmation from his teammate and smiles. "That's great."

Sakusa catches himself before his face can go to a soft smile and instead prompts, "Now it's just a light and easy cooldown back home. We can just go back the way we came, okay?"

Atsumu nods and turns around as he starts running again. Sakusa and Yuriko catch up shortly, and the rest of the run is silent also. They reach Atsumus apartment right after 7 am and say their goodbyes quickly, knowing they later have time to talk on their way to the gym.

As he runs the last few blocks alone, Sakusa knows that Atsumu is going to ask him later if he can join the spiker and his dog on their next morning run as well. Outweighing the pros and cons of having a running buddy, specifically the guy he already sees for almost seven hours of volleyball practice, Sakusa can't really find any reason to not let him join. He only talked during breaks, and so far, it hasn't been annoying, and Yuriko likes him too. 

Sakusa could always change his mind if you wanted to. He knows deep down that Atsumu would respect that decision, and if it benefits Atsumus performance in the upcoming season, he can also only benefit from this situation.

"Hey Omi-Omi, so what ya think? Can I join ya again tomorrow?" Like he anticipated, Atsumu has the courtesy to ask if Sakusa tolerated him enough to continue this arrangement. 

"If you behave like today, then I see no reason why not." Hearing that, Atsumu slightly pumps his fists into the air as he grins. Looking at him, Sakusa got confused why he acts like he just won a prize or something.

"Happy about that, aren't you?" Sakusa pokes but ends up being even more riddled when his teammate just nods excitedly. Atsumu then notices the questioning look Sakusa sends him and slightly blushes.

"Sorry, maybe I'm just excited to see that cutie every morning." Sakusa was just guessing he was talking about Yuriko and not play flirting again. Sometimes it's really not apparent at first, which annoyed Sakusa more than if Atsumu just shoved him against the wall. 

Realizing what thought just went through his head, he almost stops dead in his tracks and shakes his head violently. Without wanting to, he notices his face heating up and is silently thankful for his mask covering a good part of it.

Atsumu obviously notices Sakusa acting weird. However, before he can ask what was going on, they reached the gym facility and were for once greeted by Hinata just getting off of his bike outside. 

"Good morning, you two! Hey Sakusa, I saw a majority of your live last night. Do you call Yuriko princess often, or was that more a spur in the moment thing."

"Good morning Hinata. Sometimes I call her that yes."

It seemed to ultimately make Atsumu forget to ask why Sakusa was acting so odd before. They stepped inside and headed to the locker room while Atsumu started whining that he wants to see a clip of that. "That sounds adorable." 

"Pretty sure a fan page of his posted it on Twitter maybe look there.", Hinata suggested cheerily. 

Sakusa just went ahead without them getting changed and getting in a head start on his warm-up stretches for his wrists.

The morning runs with Atsumu quickly established themselves as the week went on. Atsumu proved himself to be quite useful, sometimes helping Sakusa stretch before the fast-paced laps in the park or even reminding him to keep his form up when Sakusas mind starting slipping into a different place. It actually caused him to reach a new personal best on the distance they went.

Only a few things were talked about the first few days. Mostly just Sakusa explaining his route to make Atsumu familiar with it or talking about something they want to try later in practice.

On their walk back from practice at the end of the week, Sakusa asks, "Do you also want to join on the weekends or just Monday through Friday. Remember tomorrow and Sunday, usually at 7:30." 

"Normally, I sleep in on weekends, but ya go another walk in the afternoon. Can I join then?"

Sakusa thought about the offer for a second. He's not running, so what would his teammate even get out of going on a walk with him. "Why? It's not like that's a run. What purpose would that even serve you?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I just want to spend time with ya and, by extension, Yuriko.", Atsumu answers shyly. The slight blush on his cheeks goes unnoticed by Sakusa, though he looks slightly down in thought.

Finally, he answers, "You know what, sure I'll call you when I leave my place, so you know when and have time to come down, okay?" 

Atsumu stares at him, completely shocked. Silent in surprise, you could say. Before he could embarrass himself too much, though, he musters up an affirmative nod that seems to be enough for Sakusa. 

A few more steps, and they part ways at their familiar intersection. Sakusa went back home, sort of looking forward to the walk with his teammate tomorrow. Why he felt like that, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't uncomfortable at the thought, so it was probably fine.

With that, Sakusa rang up Atsumu at 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. 

"Hey Miya, can you get ready in five minutes?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be down right away."

"Okay." With that, he hung up and went on his way to Atsumus building. The sun was shining really strong and warmed up Sakusa a bit while walking. This was probably one of the last few days of the golden fall season. In a few weeks, these walks would become freezing, windy, and likely accompanied by rain. Breathing in the fresh air and really appreciating the afternoon breeze that combed through his hair calmed his nerves. 

Atsumu leaned against a store window at the street corner, scrolling and laughing at his phone. Yuriko sprinted towards him, barking excitedly, which made him look up directly at his approaching teammate. Like always, he kneels down to greet the dog jumping around him excitingly. 

"Hey, Miya."

"Hey, ya two." He stands back up and walks over, pocketing his phone in the process, "Wanna get going, Omi-kun." 

The smile on Atsumus lips was warm and friendly. Like the setter doesn't have a care in the world and is just super happy to be there. Why that was, Sakusa couldn't explain to anyone if he would be asked. They're just going on a walk, after all. Nonetheless, Sakusa nodded and got moving. To signal Yuriko, he whistles at her. 

"Does she only listen when ya do that?"

"I don't know. Nobody else has tried so far, so I wouldn't know."

"Can I try later?", Atsumu asked with the enthusiasm of a small child that just learned about a new game and wants to play it.

Sakusa just looks between him and Yuriko a few steps in front of them. He smiles behind his mask at Atsumus demeanor. Not that Sakusa was that interested in his teammate, but he still wanted to find the reason for his childlike curiosity whenever he and Sakusa did something together.

"Sure, when we're at the park later." He watched as Atsumu pumped his fist up. The same way when one of their attacks works out but the look on his face was slightly different. While still excited, it also looked soft and tenderly happy. Maybe cute was the best way to describe it. 

Sakusa doesn't so much acknowledge the fact that he just described Atsumu as looking cute. He probably didn't even notice the small smile forming under his mask and his eyebrows softening out of his usual scowl. Instead, he looks ahead at the gates of the park at the end of the street.

They silently continue with Yuriko skipping ahead a few steps in front of them. Sakusa looks to his side to subconsciously acknowledge Atsumus attire. A plain burgundy sweater with a nice-looking black leather jacket thrown over top. Around his neck is a black scarf with a chain necklace poking out underneath. His pants are well fitted but not clinging to his legs, and some probably expensive sneakers round up his outfit. 

Right as he looks back up at Atsumus's face, their eyes meet, and his teammate's lips curve into a teasing smirk. He doesn't say anything, but Sakusa knows he just got caught. For Atsumu, it probably looked like Sakusa had been checking him out, and that was definitely not the case. However, they both stay quiet, and Sakusa just pretends this moment never happened in the first place.

"Say Omi-kun do ya mind explaining why ya always wear yer mask?"

Sakusa looks back at his setter, who looks at him with no smirk from before insight. Just his usual look of curiosity. Sakusas head tilts in thought, searching for the right way to explain it to his teammate.

"I just like being cautious of my health. As long as I'm healthy, I can keep doing what I love. Volleyball players stay in the game as long as they're healthy and fit. Everything from keeping my space clean to protecting myself from outside germs and keeping up my body fit serves exactly that purpose. Wearing a mask is just part of that."

He looks over as Atsumu nods in understanding. "I never looked at it like that. Maybe I'll start wearing one as well. Wait, so yer not really a germaphobe. Ya just avoid germs to keep playing volleyball." Sakusa is almost impressed that Atsumu picked that up from what he had explained.

"Well, I don't think that I fear germs like a germaphobe would. I just avoid them the best I can because they could keep me from playing. Who would really want to get sick on purpose anyway if they could just take precautions to avoid them?"

Atsumu agrees, "Well if ya put it that way, I guess I was a bit off with my assessment."

"Not really. Even if I seem like a germaphobe, I wouldn't say I am one. I don't get anxious thinking about germs on the ball. Even though it's been touched by many people throughout the day. I might not engage in every single high five or group hug, but that doesn't mean I hate physical contact in general. Do you get what I mean?"

Sakusa looks at his teammate expectantly as he seems to stop and think for a second. A frown appears on his face as he thinks carefully about what his teammate just explained to him. Slowly he starts to nod and answers simply, "Yeah, I think I get."

At this point, they passed the gates of the park and walk to Sakusas favorite bench, where they stretch in the morning. Sakusa gives Yuriko a signal to have fun, and the dog dashes off to the pond to scare the doves and ducks down there. From afar, she barks happily as the two young adults take a seat on the bench.

"So, how did ya find runnin' with me this week?"

"Not going to lie. I was surprised at your behavior." When Sakusa notices Atsumus slightly anxious look, he quickly adds, "But kinda in a good way, I guess. I really appreciated you reminding me of my form. I sometimes space out and slow down unconsciously, so that's really helpful."

Atsumu seems to visibly relax after hearing that. Looking towards the pond, he just says, "What a relief." He says it so quietly Sakusa almost doesn't hear him. Also, looking ahead, he just hums, "Yer welcome."

They stay quiet for some more time, just watching the sun reflect on the water surface. Warm and bright with another soft breeze like before flowing through their hair. Sakusa takes a few deep breaths, folds his hands in his lap, and then tilts his head up, closing his eyes for a while.

He hears a very faint clicking sound of some sort but decides to ignore it for now and instead focuses on the rustling leaves and audible wind passing through the air. A little bit farther away, he hears Yurikos happy barking and some kids laughing.

This bench is his favorite for a reason. It doesn't get passed by many people since it's not directly at the main path, but it still gives a nice view of the scenery. His little peaceful moment gets interrupted more or less by the noise of a whistle. 

He looks at Atsumu, smiling like a little child again. That's when he hears Yurikos barking get closer. Fascinated, he looks at his teammate starting to pet his dog after successfully calling her over. Atsumu turns to him and practically cheers, "It worked. She really came on my whistle." 

He turns to face the shepherd mix again, "What a good girl Yuriko."

Sakusa face that was just written over by surprise softens slightly as he reaches into his pocket as quietly as possible. He takes out a few treats that he always packs for these walks and takes one of Atsumu's hands.

Palm up, Atsumu looks at him confused as Sakusa hands him the little pieces of dog food. His face still signals Sakusa that his teammate doesn't know what he wants from him.

"Hold these out for her. They're treats." On queue, Atsumus face lights up as he nods enthusiastically. Yuriko probably noticed too. She jumps up on her feet, waving her tail excitedly. 

Atsumu draws the hand away for a moment and commands, "Okay, wait. First, sit!" He seems to know that Yuriko was well trained. Maybe Akiko told him. As soon as the dog does what she's told, he extends his hand and smiles while she eats the snacks of his hand. 

Sakusa observes his teammate carefully. The way he praises and plays with Sakusas dog. The way he smiles softly and his auburn eyes look so kind. The way the light seems to illuminate his face and draws soft shadows on his body. For the second time that day, without noticing, the word Sakusa comes up with to describe the man in front of him is cute.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atsumu invites Sakusa over for dinner, a worlds championship match, and an unplanned live stream.

"Hey Omi-Omi, just an idea, but would ya want to have dinner at my place tomorrow.", Atsumu asked as they stepped out of the park onto the street. Sakusa looked over, surprised at the proposition. Since he's not answering immediately, Atsumu starts to ramble, "Cause I just got this new recipe for Kare-Raisu from Samu last week. He came up with it, and one of the special ingredients is umeboshi."

Just as Sakusa wanted to stop Atsumu, he said, "Since ya told the team some time ago that those are like yer favorite thing to eat, I thought why not share it with ya."

Sakusa closes his mouth behind his mask and looks at his teammate, surprised. Before Atsumu can say even more, the spiker bursts out surprised, "You remember that?"

Atsumu turns, giving him a look, and says, "Of course I do," like that's the most natural thing in the world. "Anyways, that's doesn't really answer my question. So how about it. We could also watch an old match to maybe make it more worthwhile." 

Sakusa finally musters up a small chuckle followed by, "Sure, why not do it tonight instead, though?"

Atsumu gives him another confused look and responds, "Because ya don't like spontaneous changes in yer plans. Ya said so yerself a few weeks ago when we invited ya to a team dinner on the same day. Ya told us ya always want one-day heads up. Did ya suddenly change yer mind?"

Sakusa, at this point, starts to wonder how much stuff he told the team or Atsumu offhanded that the setter just committed to memory instantly. "No, I haven't changed my mind about that. If it means going out to a public bar with crowds, and I still don't like crowds. But if it's just you and me in your apartment, I would say it's probably an exception. But if you need to buy the ingredients first, then we can totally do tomorrow."

Atsumu watches him intently as he speaks. Hearing the 'you and me in your apartment' brings a slight blush to his cheeks. Yet he shakes his head, explaining he already has all the ingredients and if Sakusa was okay with it, they could already do it tonight.

"Great, then how about at 6. I'm not that great a cook, but I wouldn't mind lending a helping hand."

"Are ya sure ya won't just steal the uncooked umeboshi.", Atsumu called out to him. He probably refers to that incident when Sakusa blatantly snatched the last piece of umeboshi right out of Bokutos store-bought bento box. 

Unfazed, Sakusa just utters, "No, I won't just eat the ingredients." Atsumu giggles as Sakusa sends him a glare. 

"Sure, then come over at 6, and we can cook together.", Atsumu confirms while not stopping his laughter.

With that, they say their goodbyes at the corner of Atsumu's building and part ways. Sakusa looks at his phone for a moment to check the time. He still has two hours before 6. When he steps into his apartment, he notices his hair in the mirror looking like a mess. Without much thought, he steps into his shower and washes off. 

Done with that and letting his hair air dry for a while, he goes on Tiktok, this time immediately switching to the following page. To say he was surprised by the first video that shows up was a bit of an understatement. Atsumu took a video of him at the park. First when he sat on the bank, head looking upwards and eyes closed, and then a second clip of him training Yuriko and giving her a treat.

The background audio was just a popular lo-fi song, and the caption simply states: @sakusakiyoofficial is actually pretty pleasant to be around.

Sakusa clicks on the comments that are just overflowing with people giving him compliments and asking if Sakusa is even aware of how effortlessly good he looks. Sakusa laughs and replies to one of those saying: I'm aware, however, not of him filming me, so @thebettermiya, mind explaining yourself.

He scrolls a bit more, just taking in the lovely comments when he stumbles across one that immediately makes his smile falter. It reads  _ Funny how in the one video where he isn't visible, the comments are only compliments. Probably because he isn't hot shit after all. _

Before Sakusa can even think about acting rational, he types: Fuck off just because you're obviously jealous of him, and his accomplishments doesn't mean you have to let that out on him.

With that, he scrolls back up to see that Atsumu responded to his comment with: guilty as charged ig sorry, not sorry tho.

Sakusa huffs out a laugh and continues scrolling before styling his hair at 5:15 and preparing Yuriko's dinner. At 5:50, he leaves his building and heads towards Atsumus.

Sakusa knocks firmly, and moments later, the door opens to Atsumu, welcoming him in drying his hands off on a towel. He tells Sakusa to go wash his hands and then come join him. "I already started washin' the ingredients. So now we need to cut everythin'." 

Sakusa nods affirmative and comes back shortly after. Atsumu points at a second cutting board with peppers and carrots. Sakusa looks over to the already cut onions and garlic on Atsumu's side and licks his lips at the packet of umeboshi. Probably sensing what Sakusa's thinking, Atsumu warns him, "I already cut up the shit that makes ya cry and before ya even think about. Get to cuttin'. I'm not lettin' ya near the umeboshi."

Sakusa pouts, "I wasn't thinking that." Nonetheless, he gets started on the ingredients next to his board. In his peripheral, he sees Atsumu smiling, "Sure ya weren't." The sarcasm in his voice was so apparent out of Atsumu's mouth as the fact that he was entirely right.

Without any prompt, Atsumu yells, "Hey Alexa, play in the kitchen with Miya playlist!" 

Sakusa looks over, confused as the guy chopping up meat says, "My cooking playlist."

"You have a cooking playlist?", Sakusa asks baffled because why would someone need a playlist for cooking specifically.

"Playing in the kitchen with Miya playlist on shuffle."

As the first song starts, Atsumu nods, "It's just the mood that comes with the activity, and it's really fuckin' random. Basically, a meme playlist cause all the titles are food or somethin' connected." Sakusa laughs at the absurdity of that but gets back to his task anyway. 

On queue, Atsumu starts humming along with the song as they quietly cut the food. "So you were filming me in the park. Don't you think that could get you on my bad side?" Sakusa very much enjoyed how the guy next to him stilled his activity and tensed up for a second. 

"I honestly hoped ya just wouldn't see that video immediately since I thought ya weren't checking my profile that much. If ya want, I can take it down again?" The offer was a nice gesture, but Sakusa didn't really mind the video, to begin with, so he declined.

"It's fine. I actually liked the video."

"Really!?" 

"And even if I didn't, the comments would have been enough to convince me otherwise. Your fans are really nice." 

"Yeah, they really are. This time I didn't even see a single hate comment, and those are pretty common for me."

"Is that so?", Sakusa actually sounded a bit worried when he heard that remembering the commenter he told off. 

"Yeah, that's the reason why the team sometimes consoles me in the locker room." Atsumus face softens, thinking about the countless times his friends remind him that those idiots don't know him and that many people love him and what he does. "They just want to make sure I'm okay, and that shit like this doesn't get in my head." 

Sakusa listens intently as he finishes up his task. 'Well, if he needs affirmations like that, then it must be horrible sometimes.' He glances over at his humming teammate in awe as he realizes, 'He always looks so upbeat. I would've had no glue if he hadn't told me.'

"Hey, Omi, can I ask ya somethin'?" Atsumu looked really shy and pointily avoided Sakusa staring at him.

"Sure, go ahead." Sakusa tried his absolute best to not sound worried at this point.

"Would ya say that we're friends?" Atsumu glances at him, unsure as if he really didn't know. Sakusa was taken aback by the question but got himself together and immediately answered, "Why would you even need to ask that. I wouldn't go running or the other stuff we've done this week with just anybody. Of course, we're friends."

Atsumu turns to him, a genuine smile on his face. He replies cheery, "Thanks, Omi-Omi. Ya can't even imagine how relieved I am to hear that." They smile at each other silently for a moment. Then Atsumu turns back to cutting the umeboshi in half as the last ingredient. 

Sakusa and Atsumu sit down in the living room with their bowls of Kare-Raisu, and Atsumu turns on an old match from the World Championships. As they start eating, they talk about the excellent plays and see some moves they decide to try on Monday in practice. 

"You said Osamu came up with this recipe." Atsumu just nodded. His attention was still very much on the screen. "Ya like it?"

"Yeah, it's delicious. Though I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it on my own. Already starts with the fact that I don't wanna cut onion or garlic."

"Well, just give me a heads up when ya crave it, and I can make it for ya again. Also, that sounds like yer missin' out on a great way to spice up yer food." Atsumu turns his attention back to the screen and, without even blinking an eye, says, "I really want to get a service ace against that Russian libero. He reminds me of the one from Karasuno years ago."

The topic from before seemed done, so Sakusa just send his attention back to the screen. He takes a quick look at the player Atsumu was talking about and recognizes him. "Oh, that guy ... Yaku Morisuke played in my prefecture back in high school. I believe the team was Nekoma High School. They had the most secure defense and some decent all-around players. " 

"He's from Nekoma? That was the team Karasuno played after winnin' against mine in 2013." They looked at each other for a second and then turned back to the screen. 

In the intermission after the third set, the two quickly bring their plates over to the kitchen. As Atsumu talked, really excited about the game they're just watching, Sakusa observes as the setters smile makes his eyes crinkle, and the kitchen light throws some really harsh shadows on his face. Apparently, Atsumu said something he believed to be funny because Sakusa then heard his friend start laughing. 

Oh, if Sakusa could find the words to describe that sound, he would say them, but all he knew is that this particular laugh ringing through the otherwise silent kitchen got his attention and made his stomach turn. In his head, he immediately put it on his list of favorite and most pleasant sounds alongside Yuriko excited yelps when she gets a treat or the satisfying bang of a volleyball hitting his hand.

When Atsumu's laughter fades, he sees Sakusa stare at him with an expression he can't read at all. 

"Hey, earth to Omi-Omi. Ya wanna get back to watchin'." That seemed to do the trick and snap Sakusa out of his trance. He quickly nods.  "Sorry, got a bit distracted."

"By what exactly?" The question caused Sakusa to get a mild panic. Not like he could say, 'Hey, I like the sound of your laugh so much I couldn't think straight for a second.' No, that would just be weird as hell.

To escape further interrogation, he simply states, "Oh, nothing in particular actually." and then heads back to the couch to concentrate on the game in front of him.

Atsumu seemed satisfied with that answer because he didn't press on the issue, opting to instead focus on the game. 

When the recording ended at 9, Atsumu turned to Sakusa and asks, "Wanna stay for a little while longer."

"Do you have more planned?"

Atsumu seems to think about it for a second and then goes, "Not really, but I kinda want to spend some more time with ya." Sakusa blushed at that. It's not often someone outright states they wanna be with him without any plans of what to do.

"Okay, but only if we figure out something else to do."

The setter's face lights up at that, immediately replying, "Well, if ya don't have anythin' against sittin' around, then how about we just do a live stream together." Sakusa thinks about it for a second and then gives his friend an affirmative nod.

Like that Atsumu opens Twitter and types out that he'll be going live on Tiktok right now. After hitting send, he switches over and starts the stream. Very quickly, it fills up with people who immediately spam the chat, surprised that Sakusa is there as well. 

They greet everyone and explain that since they have nothing better to do, they just wanna pass the time answering some questions.

Immediately the chat fills up. The two young men almost can't keep up. "Aha, I saw someone ask what we're both doing hangin' out together."

Sakusa pointed at Atsumu and replied, "He invited me over to try a new recipe his brother came up with, and we watched a worlds championships match." He then leaned closer to the screen to pick out another one. He found an interesting one.

"How come I didn't kill him for the video he posted earlier." Sakusa pauses to laugh shortly as Atsumu threw in, "Hey, Omi-kun would never kill me. He needs me."

Sakusa pointily stops and stares at his teammate for a moment, "Well, I guess that's right, but I also just really didn't mind the video that much."

"That's right, who would send ya those perfect tosses that will make any receiver cry in agony if not me?" Sakusa just looked at him blankly and replied, "I could always change to the Adlers and Kageyama. You remember the guy who's got better serves than you according to the official rankings." 

If you looked hard enough, you would be able to see a vein on Atsumu's forehead about to pop and Sakusa smirking as the conversation falls quiet for a moment. Atsumu then takes a deep breath and just says, "But ya would lose yer position as the setters favorite spiker when ya go to Tobio-kun. And need I remind ya that ya can't play against Ushijima if yer both on the same side of the court."

Sakusa shrugs his shoulders and follows it up with, "Well, you got a point there. It's, in the end, not important since One I'm not gonna commit murder on you, and Two I wouldn't really want to change teams right now anyways. So let's just move on." 

"If ya say so, I'm relieved." With that, Atsumu looked back at the chat to find the next question. He frowns, confused. "Why did someone type: Atsumu did you see Sakusa calling out a hate comment on the last video." He continues to read the chat, confused. Then turns back to face Sakusa with a look that pleaded, 'Explain, please.' 

Sakusa sighs and replies, "Well, when I saw that videos comment section, I noticed one guy insinuating that because you weren't in it, there weren't any hate comments, and I replied with: Fuck off just because you're obviously jealous of him and his accomplishments doesn't mean you have to let that out on him"

Atsumu looked at him, shocked, and then screamed delighted, "Now there's not a doubt in my mind. Ya really are my friend. Oh, if ya would let me, I'd hug ya right now." Atsumu immediately hit his hand over his mouth to stop himself from saying anything more. 

Sakusa just said, "I mean, I already told you we're friends but sure." He then unfolded his arms and embraced Atsumu in a quick hug. His setter just looks at him in awe after he's let go. Quietly his lips mouth, 'Oh my god' Then he almost screams, "Oh my god, that really just happened."

He turns back to the phone and continues exited, "Whoever wrote that last question, thank ya so much. I just got a hug from Omi-Omi because of ya." 

Sakusa folded his arms again and smiles at his friend, talking about how grateful he is to be the first one on the team to get a hug from Sakusa. Atsumu turns back and more calmly thanks his friend again.

"You don't have to make it such a big deal. It was just a hug."

"But it's from ya. That's why it's so special." Sakusa could feel a strong blush settling on his cheeks. "I can't wait to brag to Shoyo and Bokkun that I won."

"Did you guys seriously make a competition out of who first gets a hug from me?" This had to be a joke, right? His teammates wouldn't be that fucking stupid, right?

"Well, I wouldn't say it was an official competition, but everythin' is a silly contest for us when it comes to ya, so yeah." Sakusa couldn't fucking believe him. Why was something this stupid so easy for him to just say out loud – on a live stream, no less. The spiker shakes his head, looking at Atsumu condescending. 

"You three really are just a bunch of weirdos. Only you could come up with something as stupid as this."

Atsumu just starts laughing. The same sound from before. The same laugh that Sakusa committed to memory and deemed it one of his favorite sounds in the world.

"Don't act like yer not also a weirdo like us." Sakusa couldn't really argue with that. Even though he may seem level-headed and mature, he often finds himself pulled into the other three's shenanigans. Like them, he gets in trouble for that, often being told to regulate the other's actions as if he had any control over them whatsoever.

When it came to his three fellow monsters, he could either not get involved at all and let them be stupid on their own, or he could join them. Talking them out of something was the equivalent of talking to a fucking brick wall. They were always either too dumb or too stubborn to listen when he had tried to reason with them. 

Knowing them for a few months now and being on the team with them meant having to endure Bokuto being loud, energetic, and chaotic. It told Hinata engulfing, encouraging, and joining Bokuto in all his over-the-top ideas. It meant getting used to Atsumus play flirting with everyone, his annoying nicknames, and over-the-top attitude. 

But here's the thing: Sakusa was also not standard in every other person's eyes. So it was also something they all had in common. He appreciated the others putting a lot of effort into being included in team activities while still considering his boundaries. So yeah, Atsumu was right. He was also a weirdo in that way. But it's not like he was gonna tell Atsumu all of that.

Instead, he went for a subtle jab. "I guess you're correct there. I must be pretty weird if I willingly hang out with you guys and get roped in with you." 

Not like it was that effective, apparently. Whatever digs Sakusa tried today, Atsumu just laughs them off. Why he's in such a good mood, Sakusa can't tell, but deep down, he is kinda glad that Atsumu didn't get sad when he heard about that hate comment.

Or at least Sakusa hoped that the man next to him wasn't just masking his feelings right now. Because Sakusa would probably not be able to tell.

He leaned closer to find a new question when eyes land on what he thinks could be a gold mine.

"Miya, someone asks if you can sing." 

"Sure, I can sing. Not as good as some idol, but I wouldn't say I'm bad at it." Atsumu looked confident enough in his answer.

"Oh well, then prove it." Atsumu sends him a confused stare. "Do ya want me to sing for ya?" 

Sakusa blushes at the indication that question gives the viewers probably, but he can't backtrack now. Either he can humiliate Atsumu a little bit or hear the same voice behind that fantastic laugh sing. It's a win-win any way he looks at the situation.

"No, Miya, I'm challenging you to prove what you just told me and –"Sakusa looks at the viewer number in the corner, "- the roughly 43k people watching this stream."

Atsumu visibly gulps and tenses up. "Okay, but then give me yer phone, so I can search for some lyrics, okay?" Sakusa nods, unlocking his phone, and gives it to Atsumu. 

"Okay, don't laugh. This is one of my current favorites from my shower playlist."

"You also have a shower playlist?"

"Ya don't?"

"No, I take fucking ten minutes maximum to shower. Why would I need a playlist for that? Wait, what other playlists do you have."

"Okay, so if I have to explain. I have a playlist for cooking, cleaning, showering, working out, specifically for yoga and meditation. I also have a playlist for traveling, one for crying, although I haven't used that in a while. Probably a good thing, though. Oh, and I have one for when I'm feeling very gay."

Sakusa was rendered speechless because his jaw had slowly dropped to the floor. How does someone even come up with that? Why would someone need that many different playlists for so many various activities? He just has a stretching playlist and his liked songs.

"Anyways, coming back to the singing part. I listen to a lot of female pop from the States in the shower, so again, don't judge me."

Sakusa slowly closed his mouth as Atsumu began to sing the opening line to Delicate by Taylor Swift. 

_ This ain't for the best.  _

_ My reputation's never been worse, so _

_ You must like me for me _ .

Atsumu first sounds unsure without an instrumental, but he still continues when he sees Sakusa listening intently.

_ We can't make _

_ Any promises now, can we, babe? _

_ But you can make me a drink _ .

Sakusa realizes that out of the two scenarios he thought of before, the better one was the case. Atsumu really could sing, and he sounded marvelous.

_ Dive bar on the East Side, where you at? _

_ Phone lights up my nightstand in the black _ .

_ Come here, you can meet me in the back _ .

Atsumu seemed secure in the lyrics now and closed his eyes as the lyrics left his mouth as he handed Sakusa his phone back. Not really that surprising if he listens to these kinds of songs when he showers. 

_ Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you _ .

_ Oh damn, never seen that color blue _ .

_ Just think of the fun things we could do _

Sakusa really liked how this evening turned out. They had a fantastic dinner, and these past few hours had been all-around enjoyable. If Sakusa wanted to take anything away from this night, it would be the knowledge that he wanted to continue having evenings like this with Atsumu.

_ Cause I like you _

Atsumu didn't continue after this instead of asking Sakusa if that was enough proof, and while Sakusa wanted to hear more, he couldn't say no. So even though it would stop his friend from singing, Sakusa also didn't want to lie.

"Yes, that was enough proof. I admit you can sing pretty well."

Atsumu seemed happy with that and turned to look at the chat for another question. "Great, last one for today, okay?" Sakusa looks at the time and agrees. He wanted to be home by 10, so one more question was doable. "Okay, so someone asks how we think the upcomin' season in two weeks is gonna go." He turned to look at Sakusa to answer first. 

"Oh, you want me to answer?" Atsumu nodded. "Okay. Well, honestly, I think we're gonna win the title this year. Miya is a great setter and knows how to perfectly utilize every one of his hitters. With Hinata as a powerful and effective decoy, our chances of hitting the other court increase drastically. Ultimately I'd say we have good chances winning this year."

Atsumu grinned as he added, "Woah, I didn't expect the whole analysis but yeah, pretty much what he said. I have two new hitters to really milk for all of their worth and am just super excited to kick some specific people's asses. Tobio-kun and Sunarin are not gonna know what's comin' for them."

The grin looked almost cynical as he started daydreaming about their pissed faces when he outplays them in a rally. Sakusa just smiles at him, amused at how stupid he's acting again. 

When his face turns slightly normal again, Atsumu turns to the camera and says his goodbye with Sakusa waving off as well. Then Atsumu ends the stream and stands up to go charge his slowly dying phone. While doing so, Sakusa gets up and walks to the door.

As he pulls his jacket on, Atsumu gets the door for him. Before stepping out of the apartment, Sakusa turns to his setter and says, "Let's do this again some time, okay, Atsumu?" 

Atsumu stands there silent. Right before Sakusa wants to take back his proposal, his setter's face lights up with the same child-like expression that he already got very familiar with these past two weeks. 

Excited, he replies, "Definitely Omi-kun!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omi has a very eye-opening weekend before the season starts

"Alright, everyone, your first match is next week Thursday. We're staying overnight in Sendai and will drive back here on Friday. You'll get the rest of the day off from practice regardless of the result. However, if you choose to do some extra practice, the gym is open until 11 pm that night. Now Akiko-san, your press briefing." 

Coach Foster took a step back for Akiko to explain the press events surrounding next week's match. "Okay, so we have a pre-game press where the captains of each team give their statements, and our to new players get their official introduction as well. After the game, everyone has about 15 minutes to get ready for interviews by the court and fan interaction time. I get the interview schedule for specific requests on Tuesday next week. Everyone, please be mindful and respectful to fans and reporters alike. We have a joint press conference going more in depths about an hour after the game ends."

She takes a quick pause to look down at the clipboard in her hand. It's Friday before the first match of the season against the Schweiden Adlers, so this is the first time they have a briefing for the schedule of everything.

"Oh, and I already have on specific request that Schweidens PR-Team gave me. It's an interview request by a pretty big sports magazine over in Tokyo. They want to do a story about the monster generation and asked to speak to Atsumu, Hinata, Bokuto, and Kiyoomi. You guys okay with that?"

The four of them nodded with their own level of enthusiasm. "One more was already made just for Bokuto. I already gave them the okay for that since it was Akaashi, and you would never say no to that one, correct?"

"Well, of course not. If Keiji wants to use the interview to spend more time with me, how could I say no to that." Bokuto smiled, and Akiko finished her briefing. "Lastly, we have a joined team interview for the start of the season. It's a lot later, although I haven't gotten the exact time yet, so maybe some free time is in between. After 8 pm, everything will be pretty much wrapped up, and you can do whatever you please."

She nodded at Foster to signal that she was done, and he dismissed them all. They all headed to the locker room and got ready for the weekend. Sakusa stepped out of the shower, first taking his time since he made a habit of waiting for Atsumu anyway. He looked at the weather for cast for the next week. 

Disappointed, he realized that starting Wednesday, there would be a high chance of rain and stronger winds in both Sendai and here in Osaka. He sighed, knowing that this weekend would be the last pleasant walk. He always dreaded going on a run and walk when it's raining, but Sakusa also knew he couldn't get around it.

It also dawned on him that maybe when the weather wasn't as pleasant anymore, Atsumu wouldn't want to join him anymore. He pushed down that thought for now. He instead focuses on looking forward to the coming weekend.

Everyone had pretty much cleared out by now when Sakusa was finished getting dressed. Atsumu, however, was just stepping out of the shower. On his phone, a video replayed every 7 seconds, and Sakusa was pretty sure that it was for Tiktok. 

"Did you just have your phone with you in the shower? Are you that addicted to it?" 

"No, 'm not addicted. I was workin'."

"Huh?" It took a moment, but Sakusas mind returned to three weeks ago when he first saw Atsumu's Tiktok account. "Are you telling me you filmed yourself in the shower?"

Atsumu hummed to confirm his suspicion. "Don't worry, just my face. The lightin' in there is excellent, so it just works well. My bathroom isn't that well lit." The setter set his phone aside to change as Sakusa looked at him for a second more before turning to his own device.

They stay quiet for a while until Atsumu says, "Hey, I saw the weather gettin' awful startin' next week but just, so ya know, I don't plan on not continuin' runnin' with ya." He turned to Sakusa while tucking on his shirt. They looked at each other intently for a moment. Turning back around, he followed up his statement with, "Just so ya know."

Sakusa nodded and watched as a warm sweater followed the shirt. "That's good to hear. Hope you don't backtrack when Wednesday actually comes." Atsumu chuckled, put on his jacket, and closed his locker. 

Walking up to his teammate Atsumu just smiled. "Don't worry. 'm not a quitter."

They left the locker room after that.

The last years had been the most defining for Sakusa as a person. Being in university instead of going pro immediately was already a choice that most of his peers at the time didn't understand. He wasn't too thrilled about it either. His parents were mostly the reason. They agreed to fully support Sakusa in his career choice if he also got a further education leaving high school. 

It's not like this halted his career. He went to one of the best universities in Tokyo with an outstanding volleyball team. The MVP title wasn't something he got for nothing. His team dominated at least the college level and even competed with 1st Division teams. Although winning against one of those was a rarer occurrence. 

But volleyball wasn't the only thing that he had going on in university. Through Akiko, he met a few friends even outside the team, and they did have a lot of meaningful conversations as they navigated their dating life. Akiko was pretty active on that. A raging lesbian that never stayed single or went without a hookup for more than two months. 

Sakusa wasn't as active as that, of course, but he did have a few hookups that only happened because he was drunk, and one of those resulted in a five months relationship. That guy was an exchange student from Europe who resolutely ended their relationship right after leaving when he went back there.

He didn't have enter another relationship for the remaining year of university instead focusing on finishing his degree as fast as possible and concentrating on volleyball. Akiko helped him get over his tiny heartbreak at the time and helped every way she could.

To make it clear, Sakusa has not been active in the dating scene or sexually active at all for the last one and a half years. 

However, after what he is looking at right now, he starts to wish he still was in the hookup scene. Maybe than he wouldn't have to feel roughly 18 months of no sexual contact hitting him metaphorically in the face at this very moment.

He can't change the past and just curses loudly as the second wave of the shock of what is happening hits him. His phone is still playing Atsumu's new video. The sound was loud and clear, but Sakusa doesn't dare to look at the screen again. 

He just tries to focus on anything else besides the fact that he just got hard watching Atsumus thirst trap that he had begun filming in the locker room shower a few hours ago. 'Shitty lights, my ass. As if he really has fuckin LED lights in his bathroom.' Sakusas face feels incredibly hot and is probably very flushed, but he wouldn't know since it was dark by now.

Sakusa knows he has two options either force down the boner or jerk off to make it go away. He also knows how easily he could make it go down. Just call his sister or mom. But he also knows that would involve having to call them and talk to them, and as much as it would help right now, he would rather snap his ankle than calling either of them right now. 

His entire family keeps nagging him about taking up a job besides volleyball because, big surprise, they didn't keep their fucking promise of just supporting him like that. He didn't want to argue with them over shit like this just to talk down his dick. 

So reluctantly, he went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He got it over with as quickly as he could, not being able to get Atsumu's face or body or everything else out of his head. When he got down from his orgasm, the reality of what he just did hits him like a brick to the face.

He jerked off to his teammate. No, even worse, not just any teammate. His setter, closest friend on the team, and one the most pretentious mother fuckers he ever met in his entire life. If Atsumu ever got wind of this, he would never let Sakusa live it down. 

Sakusa tried to look at this most rationally. Don't tell Atsumu or anyone at all and forget it ever happened. But the thing is, both wouldn't be easy. He was around Atsumu for most of his waking hours every week, and Sakusa was never good with anything like this. He avoided his hookups actively after those nights if he still remembered them. 

While this isn't quite the level of a hookup, the level of embarrassment he felt was much more significant than ever before, and forgetting the incident would be close to impossible if he had to spend so much time with Atsumu. He couldn't avoid him. Not even unfollow him to make the thirst traps go away because Atsumu would probably notice sooner or later, and if Akiko found out, they would both ask questions. 

When Akiko wants to get to the bottom of something, she will. There is almost no length she won't go to, and she could just do it under the pretense of doing her job. There was no way he could do forgetting by avoiding. He also simply didn't want to ignore his friend. Although this incident begs the question, is Atsumu still just a friend for him. 

Was more to this, or was this just his dick talking after over a year of no real action besides getting off every now and then when needed. Maybe that's what he first needed to figure out. Is Atsumu still just a friend for him, or did he start to develop a crush on his setter?

Sakusa fell on his bed, tired of thinking about this. He let his eyes fall shut and thanked his profession for tiring him out every day, so he didn't have the energy to think about this to much. As he drifted off to sleep, he made a mental note to revisit this issue in the morning.

Too bad his head had other plans.

_"Oh, Omi-kun~" It felt like his entire body went up in flames when he heard that voice ghosting close to his ear. He ran incredibly hot and turned his head to the voice. Nobody was there, so he looked around to then see the familiar owner of that voice._

_Atsumu looked at him shamelessly. He ran his eyes up and down Sakusas body. Standing there, both shirtless, Sakusa also took in the sight. Atsumu wore nothing more than a towel around his hips, and neither did Sakusa when he looks down at himself. Atsumu closed the short distance between them to grab at the back of Sakusas neck. He pulled Sakusa incredibly close, their chests touching._

_Leaning up against Sakusas ear, he said loud and clear, "Did ya like that Omi-kun? Because I sure do." Promptly Atsumu draws his head back and looks him up and down again. Sakusa feels warmth pool in his stomach as he stands there, not being able to move a muscle and having to just let it happen._

_"I wanna see more," Atsumu says, leaning closer and closer to his face. "But I also would mind just feelin' ya out" He pulls Sakusa closer again. One hand still at the back of Sakusas neck and the other comfortably sitting at his waist. Atsumu closes the last bit of difference between their lips and presses his body flush against Sakusa._

Shooting up in his bed, Sakusa immediately looks around. He's alone in his room. Yuriko is sleeping soundly away from his feet. He looks himself down and sighs in relief when he sees his sleeping shirt and underwear still on his body. 

Too tired to think about what just happened, he looks at the clock. 3:12 am. He still had more than four hours of sleep left. He lies back down and falls back asleep, this time dreamless.

The realization of what he dreamed about last night only first hits him the next morning on his run as he passes Atsumu's apartment building on his usual route. Because it's Saturday, Atsumu isn't with him, probably still sleeping soundly in his bed. Sakusa stops dead in his tracks as the memories of the dream begin to wash over him. As he looks up in shock at the building, he feels the immediate need to scream bloom in his chest. 

Deciding to not be a public nuisance or startle Yuriko, he cuts the run short by half of it. He runs back home as fast as his dog could keep up with him, purposely taking a slightly different way to avoid Atsumu's building. Back in his apartment, he jumps into the shower and lets out a weakly sounding "What the fuck is wrong with me" while he washes off the sweat from his fast-paced run. 

As he gets to his weekly cleaning, he can't stop everything in his brain from going overboard. That dream wasn't a wet dream in any way. Otherwise, he would've had to take care of it, but he didn't. Although he almost wishes it would've just been that. Then this would be easier to figure out. Then he would know that he was only attracted to Atsumu, but he knows that's not it.

Over the last few weeks, he let Atsumu get really close to him and break down some of his well build walls. Going running with him, seeing him get along with Yuriko, the casual weekend walks, and the dinner a week ago. It should have been more evident by how Sakusa loved his particular laugh and the way Atsumus face lights up when Sakusa agrees to hang out.

Sakusa realized that he very much liked all the attention he got from Atsumu. His setter had his favorite food and all his rules memorized. He was genuinely interested in anything Sakusa told him, and even when Sakusa wasn't looking, he could mostly feel Atsumus eyes on him. Hell, Atsumu took a video of him in the park and probably also photos. 

Sakusa also went at this whole thing, thinking if it had been anyone else on the team would he have the same situation. But the more he rolled over that theory in his head, he just concluded that _no Atsumu was the only person he would've let this close_. 

"This is a fucking nightmare." The sentence left his mouth, and it then hit him why this was so bad. He obviously had a crush on his setter, which was in every way just a terrible circumstance. Sakusa wanted to spend more time with Atsumu, but he knew. It would only be a matter of time for Sakusa to actually fall for the guy.

He waited to call Atsumu up a little longer to better mentally prepare himself for their upcoming walk. This shouldn't be a big deal. It wasn't before, but Sakusa couldn't return to _the before_ after last night. 

Regardless he let Atsumu know at 4:45 pm to get ready. When they met up, Sakusa soon felt like he actually worried for nothing. Talking to him and being in Atsumu's presence wasn't stressful or anything other than pleasant. They sat down in the park laughing and joking about the team and the upcoming matches.

"I can't wait to win next Thursday and beat Tobio-kuns ass with his own partner. Oh, just to get a look at that face when I outsmart his ass with his own weapons from years ago. I feel like burstin' at the seams. This is so fuckin' excitin'."

"Good grief, why are you so obsessed with the guy? It's starting to get really fucking creepy."

"Omi, Omi, Omi, this is just an extraordinary rivalry. Yer not any better. Ya wanna take on Ushijima just as much as I want to with Tobio-kun."

"I don't fantasize about the face he makes when I receive his serve. That's a line I haven't yet and will probably never cross."

"Well, say what ya will. Ya also have scores to settle, and this is just the fuckin' gateway. Like ya said last week. We'll win the entire thing this year. With ya and Shoyo and the already established team, we climb all the way to the top and won't stop until we come out on top."

"Yeah, if you say so. But then you better always be on your game with 120%. You got that."

"Yeah, Omi-kun. I wouldn't bring anythin' less than 120 if ya want me to. I think 100 would've been enough, but if ya need more then I'll give ya more."

"Very well. That's just what I wanted to hear." 

After a second of comfortable silence, Atsumu stood up from the bench. "Omi, can I show ya somethin'?"

Sakusa stood up quietly and whistled at Yuriko to come back over and follow them. Atsumu leads the way. "Since this is one of the last nice days for a while, I wanted to show ya this spot I discovered not too long ago. I went back there several times cause it's really peaceful."

Atsumu shut up after that and just walked next to Sakusa, quietly smiling. He stopped at a particular spot and went off the main path. Sakusa calmly followed behind him. When Atsumu stopped, the spiker took in the view. 

"This is it. Isn't it really nice?"

The spot was secluded and gave a beautiful view of the pond. The trees by the water banks intertwined and cast pleasant shadows on the small patch of grass. And right in front of it all stood Atsumu. His lips were curved upwards in a genuine smile, his eyes crinkled, and the auburn color softly looked at him almost like he was saying something, but Sakusa just couldn't find the words for it. 

He stepped up next to Atsumu, looking at the water sparkling and reflecting the sunlight. "Yeah, it looks beautiful." He glances over at Atsumu hearing his soft chuckle, and realized something important. He didn't want to go back to _the before_ because this felt right. 

Yeah, he had a crush on Atsumu. A pretty serious one as well, but glancing over at his newfound piece of affection, he really couldn't care less anymore. This was the hill he was going to die on if he needed to, and with that, he was content for now.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic in 4 years, so if I'm rusty sorry. But I wanted to fuel my obsession with Sakuatsu even more. One last thing: Akiko has less involvement later, but for now, she helps me with the plot.


End file.
